Had the Powell High School boys basketball team been able to compete at this year’s state tournament, head coach Chase Kistler thinks his squad was poised to make a strong showing.

Coming out of regionals, “I could see us just playing at a different level,” Kistler said, likening it to last year, when the Panthers seemingly came out of nowhere to advance all the way to the Class 3A title game.

“We kind of had that confidence we ended last season with — that was kind of coming together,” he said.

However, neither the Panthers nor any other team who qualified for the 3A and 4A state tournaments were able to play, as the event was called off due to concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.

While there will be no state champion this year, the Powell team did receive some postseason accolades, as PHS juniors Mason Marchant and Landon Lengfelder earned All-Conference honors.

“I was pleased to see that those two got honored for what they did at conference this season,” said Kistler. “I think it was good for them and they earned it and it was among some tough competition ...”

Mason Marchant was among Class 3A West’s leaders in nearly every category, ranking sixth in points (14.5 points per game), seventh in rebounding (6.5 per game), fourth in steals (2.6) and fifth in assists (3).

Marchant also had a strong case for All-State honors, ranking ninth in the entire class in scoring, seventh in assists and sixth in steals, according to figures compiled by WyoPreps.com.

For his part, Lengfelder sank 49 3-pointers — accounting for more than half of the Panthers’ treys on the season — while averaging 12.6 points per game and shooting a team-best 68% from the free throw line. He also ranked seventh in the conference in steals, with an average of 2.2 per game.

Kistler will be glad to have the pair back next season — along with most of this year’s team, which posted an 11-13 record.

“It’s reassuring knowing that you’re only graduating two and had a very competitive season,” he said.

However, the Panthers are losing seniors Jesse Brown and Aidan Jacobsen, which Kistler said will be rough.

Jacobsen “really dropped down his turnovers and got the ball to the guys scoring-wise and got to the free throw line and shot the shots that he was open,” the coach said. “I mean, he really improved over the course of the season.”

As for Brown, “it’s hard to replace that motor,” the coach said, adding, “You could put him on anyone to defend and his motor just never stopped and was kind of infectious to other players on the team.”

Brown ranked third on the team in scoring (7.3 points per game) and second in rebounding (4.8 boards per game).

Kistler said that there were multiple Panthers in the discussion for postseason awards. The Powell boys qualified for this year’s state tournament after a strong showing at the 3A West tournament — which included a thrilling, last-second win over Lovell on a Lengfelder 3-pointer and a near buzzer-beater in the third-place game.

“I truly feel that we maybe could have got a little bit more honors if we had played the state tournament and had a little success at state,” Kistler said, “but that’s out of our control.”

Up until the morning of the Class 3A and 4A state tournaments on March 12, there had been no indication that the events would even be altered due to the coronavirus.

But Wyoming’s first case of COVID-19 was confirmed the night before the tourney and the NBA, NCAA and other major sports associations began suspending their games.

Although the opening games went off as scheduled in Casper, the WHSAA subsequently announced that, following a directive from the Natrona County health officer, fans would be barred from the rest of the tournament. Then, only a half-hour later, the health officer called the entire event off.

Up in Powell, the Panther squad had already been excused from class to load up the team bus for the trip to Casper when they got the shocking news.

“It was rough,” Kistler said, adding that “it was just so quick.”

The coach initially held out hope that the state tourney could be played in some form, but the Wyoming High School Activities Association later determined that would not be possible.

Kistler has often encouraged his athletes to play every game like it might be their last, but the cancellation made for a completely unexpected end to the year.

“It’s hard to put in that much work and time and practice and just not to have a finish,” Kistler said, adding, “to not play that out was hard on them, especially the seniors.”