The Powell boys slipped to 9-10 on the season after suffering losses to a trio of opponents on Friday and Saturday in Lander.

The host Tigers dominated Friday night’s regularly scheduled contest 76-46. In two make-up games on Saturday, Pinedale defeated Powell 45-35 and Big Piney escaped by one frustrating point, 57-56.

“Lander is a hard team for us to match up with,” Panther coach Chase Kistler acknowledged. As for the second day, facing Pinedale and Big Piney in succession, the PHS squad “seemed to have us with less energy” and it “was hard to really get in any rhythm,” Kistler said. “But I did see some positives at times.”

He added that the Panthers “will have to get better playing against size,” listing Worland and Lander as examples of “good teams with a lot of athletic ability” to go with a wealth of length.

Lander

The Panthers were held to only a two and one free throw the entire first period of Friday’s game. They picked it up with 16 and 18 in the second and third quarters — playing about even with Lander — before falling back into single digits with nine in the final eight minutes. Quarter scores for the Tigers (18-3 overall, 4-1 in Class 3A Northwest) were 13, 17, 18 and 25.

Mason Marchant and Landon Lengfelder netted 11 each for Powell and Jesse Brown added seven against Team Green.

Remarkably, the Panthers had as many makes outside the arc as on the inside with six each from two and three. They helped their cause by hitting 14 free throws, but that still fell short of 50 percent.

Lander, by contrast, profited by 18, 16 and 14 points from Niieihii Black, Brian St. Clair and Trayshon Spoonhunter.

Marchant, Adrian Geller and Jesse Brown pulled down seven, six and five rebounds for 17 of Powell’s 30 in the game.

Pinedale

Against Pinedale on Saturday, the Panthers got 12 points from Marchant and nine from Lengfelder but still came up 10 shy to the Wranglers (6-13 overall).

Toran Graham was 3-4 at the line where Powell shot 6-15 as a team. The Panthers hit just once from 3-point range among 18 shots and were 13-31 from two. Geller was credited with 10 of his team’s 31 rebounds.

Big Piney

Facing Big Piney (14-5 overall) later in the afternoon, Lengfelder warmed the string for 18 points including four of Powell’s six makes from three. Marchant hit for 10 in the Panther heartbreaker.

Powell hit 8-10 at the line, shot 50% from two and 35% behind the 3-point line.

Marchant, Lengfelder and Geller rejected one shot apiece and Brown was credited with four of his team’s 17 rebounds.

Kistler and his Panthers visit Lovell this Friday to pull the curtain down on the regular season. The 3A West Regional Tournament follows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 5-7, at Lyman High School.

Lander 76, Powell 46

Powell — M. Marchant 11, Lengfelder 11, Brown 7, Trevor Groves 8, Geller 5, Aiden Jacobsen 2, Landon Sessions 2.

Lander — Scoring unavailable.

Big Piney 57, Powell 56

Powell – Lengfelder 18, M. Marchant 10, Brown 7, Groves 6, Geller 5, Jacobsen 4, Jaden Marchant 2, Sessions 2, Dylan Escalante 2.

Big Piney — Scoring unavailable.

Pinedale 45, Powell 35

Powell — M. Marchant 12, Lengfelder 9, Brown 5, Graham 5, Groves 2, Geller 2.

Pinedale — Redman 16, Keating 16, Hansen 9, Forrester 4.