A  Trey Stenerson buzzer beater in the championship game Saturday salvaged the Powell Panther boys’ basketball team’s undefeated start to the season. Powell dominated Wind River 72-27 and Shoshoni 82-19 on Friday before pushing past Thermopolis on Saturday 68-43 and defeating Lovell 60-58 on Stenerson’s shot in the championship to claim the Big Horn Basin Classic.

POWELL 75, WIND RIVER 27

Kicking off the tournament in Thermopolis the Panthers (9-0) looked to start strong, taking on 2A Wind River (2-9).

Early in the game the Panthers dominated, with Stenerson getting Powell energized with the team’s first dunk of the season.

Powell was paced by Jhett Schwahn who had seven first quarter points as the Panthers took a 23-4 lead. 

Behind 10 turnovers in the frame the Panthers eventually pushed out to a 27-4 lead at the end of the first with Powell committing no turnovers in the first quarter.

In the second quarter it was more of the same, pushing the lead out to 51-8 heading into the half as Powell had one turnover in the game compared to 19 for the Cougars in the first half.

The game hit a running clock after the half, with the Panther bench coming in late in the third quarter, giving the starters a break for the rest of the contest.

Powell kept pushing and earned a 75-27 victory to open the tournament.

Schwahn and Brock Johnson tied for the team lead with 14 points, just ahead of Stenerson with 10 as the entire Panther team saw significant playing time in the game.

POWELL 82, SHOSHONI 19

In the second contest of the day the Panthers took on 2A Shoshoni (2-10), replacing Glenrock which did not make it due to weather.

A slower start over the first three minutes was replaced by an offensive explosion late in the quarter via Gunnar Erickson, which helped Powell quickly push out to a 25-6 lead.

“We try to get off to a strong start in every game so I really liked the intensity the kids had in both games on Friday,” coach Mike Heny said. “We wanted to come out and play at a high level and establish our style of game from the start. When you are in a tournament format, it’s always nice to be able to get every player in the game and give the main rotation as much rest as possible while still allowing them to get minutes so they stay sharp for the next game.”

That strong push to end the first spilled over into the second, with Powell pushing behind Alex Jordan and Erickson to the tune of a 46-14 lead at the break as Jordan had 10 in the first half and Erickson had 17.

The second half continued a recent trend, as Powell pushed the lead to a running clock, with the starters resting late and the Panthers rolling to an 82-19 win.

Erickson led with 25 points, shooting 9-10 from the field and 5-5 from 3-point range.

Jordan finished with 14, Stenerson with 12 and Keona Wisniewski with 11. Marshall Lewis and Cade Queen tied with six assists, and Lewis and Erickson tied with four steals each.

POWELL 68, THERMOPOLIS 43

Switching to 3A opponents the Panthers got an early preview of 3A Northwest competition on Saturday, starting with host Thermopolis (8-3).

After another strong start in the first quarter Powell gained an advantage early that helped build a 12-8 lead.

Powell’s late run established a strong advantage at the end of the first, holding a 21-9 lead.

“I felt like we really executed well in the first quarter against Thermopolis which allowed us to build that early lead,” Heny said.

What went right in the first quarter did not go right to start the second, with the Bobcats making a run early.

Fortunately for Powell, that run was not damaging, with the Panther defense stepping up to maintain the lead despite it being cut in half.

Finishing the second quarter the Panthers pushed further out once again, ending with a 29-19 lead heading into the break.

“I felt like we really finished the second quarter strong and that carried us into the second half,” Heny said. “Our defense is always the key to keep us in games when we go through stretches when we aren’t clicking offensively.”

The lead continued to hover around 8-10 in the third quarter, with Powell finding a small push late to gain a 46-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth the Panther offense took off behind Jordan who went 3-3 from 3-point range in the final quarter to a dominant 68-43 win.

“Once we got to the fourth quarter, our offense took off again and we were able to put them away,” Heny said. 

Jordan led with 16 points and nine rebounds, ahead of Lewis, Erickson and Johnson who each had 11. Johnson also added seven steals and Erickson had five.

POWELL 60, LOVELL 58

A fourth and final game greeted the Panthers on Saturday along with another familiar face in the form of the Lovell Bulldogs (10-3).

After three strong starts a fourth one did not come in the final game, as Lovell took advantage of a slower Powell team early.

“I give credit to Lovell because they came out and really played well and constantly were putting pressure on us on both ends of the floor,” Heny said.

The Bulldogs used their advantage to take a 16-13 lead after the first, and continued to carry momentum in the second.

Lovell continued to hold that lead, outscoring Powell again to take a 31-26 lead into halftime.

“Against Lovell we were really sluggish in the first half and it took us a while to get going,” Heny said. “The schedule worked against us a little bit with trying to get something to eat and still be at our best for the championship game. I credit the kids with how they battled through that first half because they were a step or two slower than we had been all weekend.”

In the second half Powell cut into the lead at times, but a deadlocked third quarter saw both teams score 16 to make it 47-42 heading into the fourth.

Opening the fourth quarter the Panthers quickly cut into the lead, tying the contest on a Queen basket at 49 all.

After a Lovell basket regained the lead, Queen hit a 3-pointer to put Powell ahead 52-51.

Both teams battled, with Lovell holding the largest lead late at four up 58-54.

Erickson hit a 3-pointer and Johnson made a free throw late to tie the game, and Lovell had one last chance to take the lead.

Lovell missed the chance with less than 10 seconds left and Powell got an opportunity.

With four seconds left, Erickson lobbed it inside and Stenerson found his shot off the glass to take the 60-58 victory.

“These kids have been through a lot together so they didn’t panic and eventually we were able to get enough stops in the fourth quarter and make a few big shots to get us the win,” Heny said.

Erickson led with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds, ahead of Johnson with 13 points and seven steals once again.

HOME CONFERENCE OPENERS

Powell will return home this weekend, opening up 3A Northwest quadrant play on Friday and Saturday.

“Our quadrant is really strong this year and beating any of those teams is a good feeling,” Heny said. “It will take our best basketball each and every night so we’ll have to take each game as it comes.”

Powell will take on Thermopolis once again on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. before taking on Worland (6-5) at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

POWELL 75, WIND RIVER 27

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Brock Johnson 14, Jhett Schwahn 14, Trey Stenerson 10, Alex Jordan 9, Gunnar Erickson 9, Keona Wisniewski 8, Marshall Lewis 4, Nathan Preator 3, Evan Whitlock 2, Cade Queen 2

Rebounds — Cade Queen 6 (2), Alex Jordan 5 (1), Trey Stenerson 4 (3), Marshall Lewis 3, Brock Johnson 3 (1), Dawson Griffin 3 (1), Nathan Preator 2 (2), Jhett Schwahn 2, Evan Whitlock 1, Gunnar Erickson 1

Assists — Gunnar Erickson 4, Jhett Schwahn 3, Cade Queen 3, Marshall Lewis 2, Brock Johnson 2, Trey Stenerson 2, Alex Jordan 2, Dawson Griffin 2, Nathan Preator 1

Steals — Marshall Lewis 4, Brock Johnson 4, Trey Stenerson 4, Jhett Schwahn 3, Dawson Griffin 2, Gunnar Erickson 2, Keona Wisniewski 1, Alex Jordan 1, Cade Queen 1

Blocks — Brock Johnson 1, Trey Stenerson 1

POWELL 82, SHOSHONI 19

Points — Gunnar Erickson 25, Alex Jordan 14, Trey Stenerson 12, Keona Wisniewski 11, Cade Queen 6, Brock Johnson 5, Jhett Schwahn 5, Evan Whitlock 2, Marshall Lewis 2

Rebounds — Alex Jordan 4 (1), Trey Stenerson 3 (2), Cade Queen 3, Brock Johnson 2 (1), Gunnar Erickson 2 (1), Evan Whitlock 1, Marshall Lewis 1 (1), Jhett Schwahn 1, Dawson Griffin 1 (1)

Assists — Marshall Lewis 6, Cade Queen 6, Brock Johnson 5, Trey Stenerson 2, Gunnar Erickson 2, Evan Whitlock 1, Keona Wisniewski 1, Jhett Schwahn 1, Alex Jordan 1, Dawson Griffin 1

Steals — Marshall Lewis 4, Gunnar Erickson 4, Brock Johnson 2, Trey Stenerson 2, Jhett Schwahn 2, Cade Queen 2, Keona Wisniewski 1, Dawson Griffin 1

Blocks — Brock Johnson 1, Trey Stenerson 1

POWELL 68, THERMOPOLIS 43

Points — Alex Jordan 16, Marshall Lewis 11, Brock Johnson 11, Gunnar Erickson 11, Keona Wisniewski 7, Cade Queen 7, Trey Stenerson 4, Jhett Schwahn 1

Rebounds — Alex Jordan 9 (2), Brock Johnson 7, Gunnar Erickson 5 (2), Trey Stenerson 4 (2), Cade Queen 3 (3), Evan Whitlock 2, Marshall Lewis 1, Keona Wisniewski 1, Jhett Schwahn 1 (1)

Assists — Brock Johnson 4, Jhett Schwahn 4, Trey Stenerson 3, Marshall Lewis 2, Dawson Griffin 2, Gunnar Erickson 2, Cade Queen 2, Alex Jordan 1

Steals — Brock Johnson 7, Gunnar Erickson 5, Trey Stenerson 2, Marshall Lewis 1, Alex Jordan 1, Cade Queen 1

Blocks — Brock Johnson 1, Trey Stenerson 1, Alex Jordan 1

POWELL 60, LOVELL 58

Points — Gunnar Erickson 19, Brock Johnson 13, Cade Queen 9, Marshall Lewis 8, Trey Stenerson 6, Alex Jordan 5

Rebounds — Gunnar Erickson 4 (3), Brock Johnson 4, Trey Stenerson 3, Alex Jordan 3 (1), Jhett Schwahn 2 (1), Marshall Lewis 1, Cade Queen 1 (1)

Assists — Gunnar Erickson 5, Brock Johnson 4, Marshall Lewis 2, Jhett Schwahn 2, Keona Wisniewski 1, Cade Queen 1

Steals — Brock Johnson 7, Marshall Lewis 1, Alex Jordan 1, Gunnar Erickson 1

Blocks — Marshall Lewis 1, Brock Johnson 1