Two strong first quarters did not lead to the same result for the Powell Panther boys’ basketball team, which lost to Lander 50-46 on Friday night before running away from Pinedale 71-55 on Saturday.

LANDER 50, POWELL 46

Needing to add more wins to improve postseason standing, the Panthers (13-7 overall, 3-5 3A West) welcomed in the Tigers (11-8 overall, 5-3 3A West).

Powell came out strong, holding a 10-6 lead at the midway point behind six by Dawson Griffin.

The Panthers built their lead to as many as eight up 14-6, and held a 16-9 lead after the first frame.

“Against Lander we just wanted to come out and play hard early in an attempt to get into an early rhythm offensively and try to set the tone on the defensive end,” coach Mike Heny said. “We were making shots in that first quarter and playing pretty well defensively which allowed us to build that early lead.”

Lander quickly cut that lead down in the second quarter, only trailing 16-15 with 5:35 remaining.

The Tigers eventually tied it at 18 and took the lead shortly after, as the visitors held a 25-22 lead going into the locker room.

“Our schedule worked against us a little and only having two days of practice to get ready for Lander started to show in that second quarter,” Heny said. “I felt like we were sluggish during that run and just couldn’t sustain any offensive consistency. We also lost track of their best offensive players too often which allowed them to turn the game in their favor.”

Jaxon Hancock’s two putbacks early gave Powell the lead back in the third quarter, but the TIgers responded and held a 31-26 lead midway through the frame.

Lander kept pressing its advantage and made it a double digit lead with just over two minutes left, as Powell trailed 39-29 and called a timeout.

A late shot by Taeson Schultz rattled in and Powell trailed 39-32 heading into the fourth.

Powell started the fourth quarter stronger, trailing 41-35 with just over five minutes remaining.

But scoring again disappeared for the Panthers for several minutes, as Lander made its lead 45-36 with two minutes remaining.

Powell made one last push late, starting with a Nathan Preator 3-pointer with just over 30 seconds remaining.

A steal led to an Evan Whitlock layup, but free throws for Lander made it a difficult advantage for Powell to overcome.

“When we did find a way to increase our intensity in the fourth quarter we made a few mistakes, missed a few easy buckets and simply ran out of time,” Heny said.

Lander made enough free throws late and made it a 50-46 final.

Griffin and Alex Jordan led with 11 points each just ahead of Hancock with 10.

Hancock led with 12 rebounds to complete his double-double, also tying for the team lead in assists alongside Preator with three each.

Griffin also led with four steals.

POWELL 71, PINEDALE 55

After the loss Friday the Panthers were locked into one of the lower seeds heading into regionals, but were looking for one final home win against the Wranglers (13-7 overall, 3-5 3A West) in order to get a tiebreaker.

Powell came out strong, building a 9-2 lead and forcing a timeout three minutes in by the visitors.

A Griffin jumper made it 13-2 midway through, and the Panthers led 20-9 after the first quarter.

That lead grew to as many as 26-11, but two three pointers quickly cut it to 26-17 and forced a Powell timeout with just under five minutes left.

After the push by Pinedale the Panthers recovered, and pushed it to 38-25 at the break after a late basket by Jordan.

“The Pinedale game was a nice bounce back after the tough loss the night before. The kids had a lot more energy and really played well in the first half,” Heny said. “They shot the ball like they are capable of and really worked the ball inside to Jaxon and AJ, which was a big part of the game plan.”

In the third quarter a Preator jumper made it a 46-27 scoreline and forced a Pinedale timeout with 4:48 left.

Powell pushed it to 20 on a Jordan layup at 50-30 with 1:15 remaining, but a buzzer beater by Pinedale made it 53-35 heading into the fourth.

Pinedale made its runs in the fourth quarter, cutting it down to 14 with 2:45 remaining as Powell led 67-53.

The Panthers finished strong and never let the lead shrink to single digits as Powell finished the 71-55 win.

“If we can continue to score both from the inside and the perimeter, we will be a much more consistent offensive team down the stretch,” Heny said.

Jordan led with 18 points and Hancock added another double-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Preator added 15 points, leading with five assists and six steals.

REGULAR SEASON WRAPS UP

Powell will now head on the road to wrap up the regular season, heading on short trips to take on the top two teams in the conference trying to get one more win to secure a top five spot heading to regionals.

“Any win at this point is important moving towards these last two regular season games and into regionals. As a team, we still have a lot of things we can improve upon in order to give us a chance to win each game,” Heny said.

Powell starts on the road in Lovell, taking on the Bulldogs (19-2 overall, 8-1 3A West) at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

The Panthers will follow that up with a game in Cody on Friday, taking on the Broncs (15-4 overall 7-1 3A West) at 7 p.m.

“The biggest adjustments this week will be continuing to improve our ability to defend both in the half court and in transition,” Heny said. “We will also need to take care of the ball and really work hard to get open looks on offense.”

LANDER 50, POWELL 46

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Alex Jordan 11, Dawson Griffin 11, Jaxon Hancock 10, Taeson Schultz 7, Nathan Preator 5, Evan Whitlock 2

Rebounds — Jaxon Hancock 12 (5), Alex Jordan 9 (5), Dawson Griffin 4 (2), Taeson Schultz 3 (1), Nathan Preator 2 (1), Evan Whitlock 1 (1), Landon Hyde 1

Assists — Nathan Preator 3, Jaxon Hancock 3, Taeson Schultz 2, Evan Whitlock 2, Dawson Griffin 2

Steals — Dawson Griffin 4, Nathan Preator 2, Alex Jordan 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Landon Hyde 1

Blocks — Taeson Schultz 1, Jaxon Hancock 1

POWELL 71, PINEDALE 55

Points — Alex Jordan 18, Jaxon Hancock 17, Nathan Preator 15, Evan Whitlock 9, Dawson Griffin 9, Taeson Schultz 3

Rebounds — Jaxon Hancock 11 (3), Alex Jordan 8 (4), Evan Whitlock 5 (1), Nathan Preator 2, Landon Hyde 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Dawson Griffin 1

Assists — Nathan Preator 5, Evan Whitlock 3, Alex Jordan 3, Dawson Griffin 3, Landon Hyde 2, Taeson Schultz 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 6, Alex Jordan 2, Landon Hyde 1, Dawson Griffin 1

Blocks — Jaxon Hancock 3, Dawson Griffin 1

3A WEST STANDINGS

Overall record followed by conference record

1. Lovell 19-2, 8-1

2. Cody 15-4, 7-1

3. Lander 11-8, 5-3

4. Worland 10-9, 5-4

5. Powell 13-7, 3-5

6. Pinedale 9-10, 3-5

7. Mountain View 8-13, 2-7

8. Lyman 7-14, 1-8