Blowout, buzzer beater send Powell into holidays

Marshall McArthur chose a great time to snap out of a cold shooting night. The Panther junior’s driving layup with two seconds to play was his only basket, but it was enough to lift Powell to a 66-65 win at Class 2A No. 2 Lovell on Thursday.

“We’d set up a bit of a clearout in our last time out with Marshall and Cooper Wise on one side of the floor,” Panther head coach Mike Heny said of the play. “If they switched on the screen, we were going to send Marshall to the blocks to post up. Instead, they stayed with him and when he ball faked, both defenders ran at him and he was able to drive in. He showed great confidence on that play.”

The victory at Lovell was just one reason for Powell fans to celebrate this past week. The Panthers also pounded 3A No. 4 Buffalo 62-45 on Saturday, giving the team a 6-1 record entering the winter break. Powell is 2-0 in 3A West conference play.

After losing its first game of the season, Powell has reeled off six consecutive victories, including three against teams appearing in the Wyopreps coaches and media poll. The Panthers have steadily risen from No. 5 to No. 2 in the state during that time.

On Thursday, the team had all it could handle from next-door neighbor Lovell. After a back-and-forth first quarter and a half, the Bulldogs were able to open a slim halftime lead.

Lovell stretched that gap to as many as nine points early in the third quarter before the Panthers began the comeback process. Tyler Sandal came off the Powell bench to spark the team with six points. Josh Cragoe and Chase Partridge combined for 44 points on the night and 60 percent shooting from the floor to help Powell draw level with less than four minutes to play in the game. The Panthers took their first lead of the second half a short while later.

Powell missed on a pair of attempts to stretch the game to a two-score lead in the final minutes. Missed free throws by the Panthers kept Lovell within striking distance and the Bulldogs finally capitalized on the opportunity, retaking the lead with just seconds to play and setting the stage for McArthur’s late-game heroics.

“It was a tough battle against a good team,” Heny said. “Any time you go to Lovell, you know it’s going to be a tough place to play. The community gives them tremendous support. Our kids did a good job of sticking with it and battling, especially when Lovell got up by nine.”

There was no such drama on Saturday. Powell scored 16 of the first 18 points to immediately go ahead by double digits and never allowed Buffalo the opportunity to challenge for the lead after that. The Panthers held fourth-ranked Buffalo to just 14 points in the first half.

“We just got out to a really good start offensively and defensively,” said Heny, whose team was ahead by as many as 26 in the contest before the Bison narrowed the gap slightly. “We got out and got after them and created some easy buckets for ourselves.”

The Panthers also came out on fire from the perimeter as Brady Schaefer connected for an early pair of 3-point shots and eventually finished with a game-high 21 points.

“Brady probably had the best offensive game of his career,” Heny said. “It’s nice when someone the defense probably doesn’t think they have to account for gets going early. It changes the entire complexion of the game, and we’re fortunate that any of the guys we have out there are capable of that sort of production on any night. Saturday it was Brady. Thursday it was Josh.”

In addition to Schaefer, three other Panthers finished the game in double figures. Partridge dropped in 11 points while Cragoe and McArthur each dropped in 10. Part of the production was thanks to the Panthers 20-for-23 shooting from the foul line. The Panthers connected on their first 16 free throws in the contest.

“On the way back, we were talking that we didn’t play all that well,” Heny said, noting the team had a season-high 24 turnovers. “We’re not firing on all cylinders yet.”

The Panthers are off until Jan. 6-7. The team will return from the holidays with a long road trip south to face Mountain View and Lyman.

“We’ll spend the break putting in the rest of our packages, so that we have everything available that we could need on the conference road trip,” Heny said. “Other than that, we’ll work on staying sharp shooting the ball and making sure we keep up our conditioning. It’s a period of time we can use to sharpen everything we do. We still have plenty of room for improvement.”

Powell 66, Lovell 65

Marshall McArthur 4, Cooper Wise 8, Justin Lynn 4, Tyler Sandal 6, Chase Partridge 24, Josh Cragoe 20.

Rebounding: Cragoe 11. Assists: McArthur 6. Steals: Partridge 5. Blocked shots: None.

Powell 62, Buffalo 45

Marshall McArthur 10, Cooper Wise 4, Brady Schaefer 21, Justin Lynn 4, Tyler Sandal 2, Chase Partridge 11, Josh Cragoe 10.

Rebounding: McArthur 6. Assists: Cragoe 4. Steals: Cragoe 4. Blocked shots: Partridge 1.