With only a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Powell and Cody boys’ basketball teams were neck and neck. The Panthers and Broncs traded basket for basket on Thursday evening, with all signs pointing toward a last-second finish.

Powell High School suffered a significant loss with five minutes left, as senior Mason Marchant fouled out. Without their leading scorer, it would’ve been easy for the Panthers to lose faith, but instead, they stood tall in crunch time.

Timely free-throw shooting down the stretch and clutch scoring from Zach Ratcliff allowed Powell to escape Cody with a 53-49 win.

“The kids did a good job of keeping their focus and continued to play hard,” PHS head coach Mike Heny said. “Zach Ratcliff did a great job coming in and making plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor.”

Marchant had the most points with 15, while fellow seniors Adrian Geller and Landon Lengfelder each added 11.

Though Powell and Cody don’t compete in the same conference anymore, defeating the Class 4A Broncs is always sweet.

“A win over Cody is always meaningful for these kids since they have been competing against them for so long,” Heny said. “Both sides want to win regardless of the fact that it’s not a conference game. That’s what makes the rivalry special and competitive each and every year.”

PHS led early on and never allowed Cody to take the lead in Thursday’s matchup. But the Panthers’ next game against Rocky Mountain was a much different story.

The visiting Grizzlies came out of the gates hot on Saturday, striding to an early 15-5 lead in the first quarter. Trailing by double digits, Heny told his team to remain focused.

“ All I said to the kids was to stay aggressive on offense and clean things up on the defensive end,” the coach said. “We gave up way too many easy buckets early in the first quarter which allowed Rocky to get that 10-point lead. The kids know that basketball is a game of runs, so we just needed to not panic and get settled in by executing better on both ends of the floor.”

Soon after Heny spoke to his players, things changed.

Powell outscored the Grizzlies 18-13 in the second quarter, cutting the halftime deficit to one. And after the break, PHS built on its momentum, thanks to efficient shooting. The Panthers ultimately won 61-49, improving their record to 4-0 on the season.

This time, Lengfelder was the high scorer with 18 points, while Marchant had 12. Ratcliff and Geller each tallied 10. As a team, PHS shot a strong 51% from the field.

After the dismal start, Powell regrouped well. And based on what he saw, Heny believes in his team’s ability to come from behind in any contest.

“I’m confident in these kids to keep fighting no matter the situation this year,” Heny said. “With a senior-laden team with this much experience, there is no need to panic after a slow start. It comes down to little things and executing one possession at a time to slowly chip away at the deficit.”

Next up for Powell is a road game against Rocky Mountain on Saturday, Jan. 9.