Boys head to regionals atop poll

The Powell Panthers head into the postseason with the largest of targets on their backs after ascending to the top position in the final Wyopreps coaches’ and media basketball poll of the season. The Panthers narrowly edged Torrington in the final round of balloting.

Powell and Torrington each received seven first-place votes from among the panel of 15 voters. The Panthers were ranked second on seven of the eight remaining ballots, however, while voters split their love for Torrington more evenly between second, third and fourth place. As a result, Powell owned a 198-183 edge in the final point count.

It marks the second time this season the Panthers have been placed at the head of the Class 3A field.

Star Valley received the remaining No. 1 vote, but were ranked third by 10 of the 15 voters to remain entrenched at No. 3 in the final poll with 147 points. Lander, named by only nine of the 15 voters, barely held on to the No. 4 spot this week. The Tigers had just three more points (60) than No. 5 Buffalo, which was actually named on 13 of the 15 ballots, but never higher than fourth place.

Lyman and Wheatland were the only other schools to receive votes.

The Panthers open 3A West regional play at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday against Pinedale. Heading into the tournament, head coach Mike Heny is positive about his team’s outlook.

“It’s definitely difficult playing teams multiple times,” said Heny. “Teams have an idea of what they think they need to do to stop what you do well and you need to be able to adjust.”

In that regard, Heny says the Panthers are sitting in good position.

“To our advantage, we have a lot of set plays that we didn’t need to use during the regular season because our basic continuity worked so well for us,” Heny said. “We have wrinkles that we can still use that we haven’t had to yet. So many of these tournament games come down to being able to execute in the half-court, and I like where we’re at because we haven’t had to show a lot of those things.”

The Panthers also have the luxury of experience. While last year’s regional tournament may remain a bitter pill for many fans, the Panthers’ coach considers it a benefit.

“It was a good lesson for us,” said Heny. “It showed that you have to focus on each possession. It gave us experience if we get into those sorts of positions again. We’ll benefit as a team because of what happened last year.”

The Panthers’ coach also isn’t concerned about drawing the early start time for the tournament, despite having to tip off at 10:30 a.m.

“It’s definitely something that we’ll have to get the kids to focus on and make sure they get a good night’s sleep, but I think it could work in our favor too,” said Heny. “Playing in the morning, you don’t sit around all day watching the other teams play. We’re able to get there and get after it right away without any lag time.”

The 3A West tournament takes place in Jackson and runs through Saturday night.