The Powell High School boys’ basketball team fell short of a state berth for the first time in five years at a difficult 3A West Regional Tournament, as the Panthers fell to Cody 58-46 on Thursday, defeated Mountain View 79-45 and fell to Lander 64-56 on Saturday.

CODY 58, POWELL 46

Starting with a rematch from a week prior the Panthers (15-10 overall, 3-7 3A West) took on the Broncs (10-15 overall, 6-4 3A West).

Scoring started slow for the Panthers, as they trailed 7-5 after a Taeson Schultz basket.

Powell pushed forward quickly and took the lead 17-14 after the first after Schultz was fouled at the buzzer and made all three free throws.

Dribble penetration became an issue for the Panthers defensively, as they trailed 23-22 midway through and ultimately trailed 28-24 at the half after a late 3-pointer by the Broncs.

“Cody was being really aggressive at driving downhill and our help rotations were just coming too late,” coach Mike Heny said. “Their game plan was clearly designed to attack the paint and with the other guard back from our last game, they just kept rotating guys and kept the pressure on our defense.”

Cody fouls early in the third quarter got Powell back in it, as the Panthers tied it at 32 with 4:30 left in the third after a Landon Hyde free throw.

An 11-2 run by the Broncs gave them a nine point advantage, but a 4-0 stretch by Caden Nelson ended the third and Powell trailed 43-38 heading into the fourth.

Powell continued to trail but keep things close, until an off ball technical foul on the Panthers swung the momentum fully in the favor of the Broncs.

“At that point, we were right where we needed to be in order to try and get the win, so it was a tough call at that point in the contest,” Heny said. “Officiating is part of the game, and the calls don’t always go our way. I’m not sure exactly how much it impacted the final outcome, but it certainly made it very difficult for us to overcome.”

The Panthers fell behind 50-42 and were unable to recover in the 58-46 defeat.

Landon Hyde led with 10 points, Nelson had six rebounds, Abel Teten led with three assists, Nathan Preator led with two steals while Nelson, Teten and Eli Dallman each had a block.

POWELL 79, MOUNTAIN VIEW 45

In an elimination game on Friday the Panthers sought revenge for a regular season overtime loss against the Buffalos (9-14 overall, 3-7 3A West)

Powell got off to a quick start behind the strong shooting of Schultz and Preator, as the two combined for 17 of the Panthers’ first 19 points as they led 19-10 midway through.

The Panthers continued that momentum behind Preator, who finished with 18 points in the first quarter as Powell led 29-13 after the first.

“Any time you can come out and score 29 points in the first quarter in a loser-out game, you feel good about how the kids are locked into the task at hand,” Heny said. “Nathan came out very focused after the tough night on Thursday and really everyone else fed off of his aggressiveness. It was great to see us play to our abilities and continue to play all four quarters.”

Mountain View came out and cut into the lead in the second quarter, but Powell held its ground and maintained a 36-22 lead midway through the frame.

The Buffalos cut the lead to as close as 10 but not to single digits as the Panthers led 42-30 at the half.

Powell held off another quick start by Mountain View, and maintained a 51-36 lead midway through the period.

The Panthers started pulling away as a Brady Harvey basket made it a 59-38 game with 1:35 remaining, and a Kason Sherman 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 64-39 going into the fourth quarter.

Another Sherman 3-pointer made it 72-41 with 5:30 remaining as Powell cruised to a 79-45 win.

Schultz led with 24 points just ahead of Preator with 23, and Hyde added 10 as the final Panther in double figures.

Predator and Hyde had six rebounds each, Preator led with five assists and four steals while Hyde had the lone block.

LANDER 64, POWELL 56

In a game with a chance to go to state the Panthers were hoping to reverse their fortunes after falling to the Tigers (16-9 overall, 5-5 3A West) by 28 in February.

Powell started strong behind Teten and held a 7-6 lead midway through the first.

Lander inched just ahead of the Panthers after the first, as Powell trailed 14-13 heading into the second.

The Panthers started quickly in the second and built a nine point lead, but the Tigers rallied and cut it to two midway through.

Powell responded again with a run of its own, as a Hyde free throw pushed it to the double digit halftime margin of 38-28.

In the third the Panthers were held scoreless over the first 4:24, as Lander cut the lead down to 38-36 and forced a Powell timeout.

Lander’s push gave the Tigers the lead 41-40 after free throws with 1:40 remaining as Lander led 44-43 heading into the fourth quarter after a late 3-pointer.

“Lander came out after halftime and really turned up their physicality on both ends of the floor,” Heny said. “We knew they would try and flip the contest to the style they needed since we had played the first half in the way that best suits us. Unfortunately, we struggled to adjust, and the second half played out much like the game down in Lander for us on our offensive end.”

Powell fell behind 48-45 early in the fourth, and trailed 52-50 with 4:24 remaining after a Preator 3-pointer.

From that point forward the Panthers were unable to find many baskets, as Lander pulled away over the final four minutes for the 64-56 win to end the Panther’s season.

“The kids did a great job keeping them from driving to the rim like they did in our first contest. Unfortunately, Lander went 9-17 from the 3-point line, with most of those coming in the second half,” Heny said. “That was the biggest factor in how they were able to pull away from us down the stretch.”

Preator led with 25 points as Hyde added 10.

Schultz led with eight rebounds, as Preator, Nelson and Schultz had two assists each. Preator led with four steals while Nelson and Schultz had a block each.

SEASON WRAPS UP

What started as a strong season saw the Panthers miss state for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

“It’s always difficult to come up short of the state tournament,” Heny said. “We beat five of the eight teams that qualified for the state tournament, so it is a tough pill to swallow to stay home this weekend. However, it was a great group of young men and they represented the program to the highest degree.”

The Panthers will lose all five starters once again this season in Preator, Schultz, Teten, Nelson and Hyde, needing to replace significant production once again heading into next year.

“As has been the case for the past two seasons, we will need to replace all five starters,” Heny said. “It will come down to who can improve and work their way into the starting lineup and rotation on next year’s squad. The off-season commitment from our returning players will be the key to finding out who grabs those minutes next season.”

CODY 58, POWELL 46

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds ()

Points — Landon Hyde 10, Nathan Preator 8, Taeson Schultz 8, Caden Nelson 7, Kason Sherman 6, Abel Teten 5, Eli Dallman 2

Rebounds — Caden Nelson 6, Nathan Preator 5, Landon Hyde 2 (2), Brady Harvey 2, Abel Teten 2 (1), Kason Sherman 2 (2), Taeson Schultz 1, Eli Dallman 1

Assists — Abel Teten 3, Brady Harvey 2, Eli Dallman 2, Nathan Preator 1, Taeson Schultz 1, Landon Hyde 1, Kason Sherman 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Landon Hyde 1, Kason Sherman 1, Eli Dallman 1

Blocks — Caden Nelson 1, Abel Teten 1, Eli Dallman 1

POWELL 79, MOUNTAIN VIEW 45

Points — Taeson Shultz 24, Nathan Preator 23, Landon Hyde 10, Abel Teten 8, Kason Sherman 8, Brady Harvey 4, Caden Nelson 3, Karcher Foley 2

Rebounds — Nathan Preator 6 (1), Landon Hyde 6 (2), Brady Harvey 5 (1), Caden Nelson 4, Taeson Schultz 3 (1), Abel Teten 2, Kason Sherman 1, Eli Dallman 1, Braxton Nelson 1 (1), Karcher Foley 1 (1)

Assists — Nathan Preator 5, Caden Nelson 4, Taeson Schultz 4, Landon Hyde 3, Abel Teten 2, Kason Sherman 1, Eli Dallman 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 4, Caden Nelson 2, Taeson Schultz 2, Brady Harvey 1

Blocks — Landon Hyde 1

LANDER 64, POWELL 56

Points — Nathan Preator 25, Landon Hyde 10, Abel Teten 8, Taeson Schultz 6, Caden Nelson 3, Brady Harvey 3, Kason Sherman 1

Rebounds — Taeson Schultz 8 (2), Landon Hyde 4 (1), Nathan Preator 3 (1), Brady Harvey 3, Caden Nelson 2 (2), Kason Sherman 2 (1), Abel Teten 1 (1)

Assists — Nathan Preator 2, Caden Nelson 2, Taeson Schultz 2, Landon Hyde 1, Abel Teten 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 4, Caden Nelson 1, Abel Teten 1, Kason Sherman 1

Blocks — Caden Nelson 1, Taeson Schultz 1

3A WEST REGIONALS

THURSDAY

No. 3 Pinedale, 58, No. 6 Mountain View 40

No. 2 Cody 58, No. 7 Powell 46

No. 1 Lovell 75, No. 8 Lyman 43

No. 4 Lander 65, No. 5 Worland 40

FRIDAY

No. 7 Powell 79, No. 6 Mountain View 45

No. 5 Worland 47, No. 8 Lyman 27

No. 3 Pinedale 43, No. 2 Cody 34

No. 1 Lovell 62, No. 4 Lander 41

SATURDAY

No. 4 Lander 64, No. 7 Powell 56

No. 5 Worland 32, No. 2 Cody 30

No. 1 Lovell 62, No. 3 Pinedale 50 (Championship game)

No. 4 Lander 52, No. 5 Worland 39 (Third place game)