Second half powers Powell over rival Cody

The second-ranked Powell Panthers received a gut check during Saturday’s first half against Park County rival Cody, but passed with flying colors. The Panthers used a big second half to transform a five-point halftime cushion into a 64-39 blowout win and wrap up the top seed in the 3A West regional tournament.

The win also cinched a second consecutive regular-season conference title for the Panther boys. Combined with a 75-53 non-conference road victory at Worland, it wrapped up an 18-3 regular season for Powell.

But none of that appeared certain for stretches of the first half on Saturday.

“That first half was a gut check,” said Panther head coach Mike Heny. “Our leading scorer is sitting on the bench for the entire second quarter. Cody was executing some things on their end that were causing us problems.

“Marshall (McArthur) stepped up huge and some of the guys off the bench came in and did what we needed them to do and contributed. Going into half with the lead under those circumstances was just huge for us.”

“I actually thought we missed a lot of shots that we’d normally hit,” Heny said of the early third quarter. “I thought we could have come out and stretched it out sooner. We did a good job of switching up our defense and getting them out of synch. They weren’t able to get it inside as easily. Our halftime adjustments really worked to our advantage.”

McArthur finished with a game-high 23 points for the Panthers as he carried the workload in the second quarter. Chase Partridge added 17 points and seven rebounds. Cooper Wise did an exceptional job of distributing the ball from the point guard position, ending the night with seven assists.

On Thursday, the Panthers found themselves in a dogfight early on against Worland. The Warriors were deadlocked with Powell 9-9 late in the first quarter, but failed to keep pace as the Panthers rushed to a 20-point halftime lead before coasting home with a 75-53 victory.

“Give Worland credit, it was their senior night and they were carrying a little extra energy out there early,” said Heny. “We were probably a little sluggish with everything riding on Saturday’s game, but I’m really proud of the way the kids played and picked it up on the defensive end. We didn’t panic. We just tightened things up.”

Partridge had a career night for the Panthers, dropping in 27 points and also registering five blocked shots. Josh Cragoe chipped in with nine points while Tyler Sandal finished with eight.

By virtue of the win, the Panthers finished tied with Lander for the regular-season title in the 3A West conference. Powell receives the No. 1 seed to this week’s 3A West regional tournament in Jackson by virtue of a regular-season sweep of Star Valley, the league’s No. 3 team in the regular season.

“You always want that number one seed because it sets you up for a little easier path,” said Heny. “I’m proud of how we focused and finished off the regular season. Now we want to work our way through regionals. Our goal is to be playing basketball on Saturday night for the next two weeks.”

The Panthers’ regional tournament begins at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, with an opening-round game against Pinedale. Lyman faces Cody in the other quarterfinal game on the Panthers’ side of the bracket.

Lander faces Mountain View and Star Valley plays host Jackson on the opposite half of the bracket.

Powell 75, Worland 53

Marshall McArthur 7, Cooper Wise 6, Hayden Cragoe 2, Brady Schaefer 6, Justin Lynn 6, Tyler Sandal 8, Chase Partridge 27, Josh Cragoe 9, Garrett Michael 4.

Rebounds: J. Cragoe 8. Assists: McArthur and Wise, 3 each. Steals: Wise 4. Blocked shots: Partridge 5.

Powell 64, Cody 39

Marshall McArthur 23, Cooper Wise 4, Hayden Cragoe 2, Brady Schaefer 8, Justin Lynn 2, Tyler Sandal 4, Chase Partridge 17, Josh Cragoe 4.

Rebounds: Partridge 7. Assists: Wise 7. Steals: McArthur 3. Blocked shots: McArthur and Lynn, 1 each.