Cody and Powell no longer compete in the same division, and their match-ups don’t mean a lot when it comes to postseason. And yet, as always, the rivals’ basketball game at Cody High School last week felt as though it counted just a little bit more.

The Panthers (3-1 in Class 3A) and Broncs (0-4 in Class 4A) matched each other shot-for-shot down the stretch — until the Panthers hit a late free throw and hung on for a wild, 62-61 victory on Friday night.

“You can kind of expect that game always to be that way between Cody and Powell. It’s just what it is,” said PHS head coach Chase Kistler. “I think our guys were more so about the pride of beating Cody than win-loses, anything like that.”

Despite perhaps coming into their own gym as the underdog, the Broncs grabbed an eight-point lead in the third quarter.

However, Powell rallied and hit some “big shots,” Kistler said — and they were fortunate to see Cody miss several shots late. That allowed the Panthers to overcome some poor free throw shooting, which included missing 3 of 4 attempts in the final minute.

“It wasn’t pretty by any means,” said Kistler, adding that, “if we would have hit our free throws like normal, we probably would have stretched that lead out a little bit more.”

However, the coach was impressed with the way the Powell boys persevered amid an intense contest on the road.

“In the second half, it really was trading baskets — one up, one down, one up one down — and our guys just kind of stayed steady and kind of held through and didn’t buckle underneath the pressure,” Kistler said.

Befitting a rivalry game, Powell and Cody played to a 45-45 tie through the first three quarters; the lead would change hands or fall back into a tie 11 more times in the final period.

About halfway through the fourth quarter, senior Jesse Brown hit a pair of free throws to put PHS up by three, 57-54, but the Broncs later rallied to tie the game at 59.

Landon Lengfelder hit a basket to regain the Powell lead at 61-59; Cody then knotted things up at 61-all with around 43 seconds remaining.

However, the eventual difference-maker came from PHS junior Mason Marchant. Marchant earned a trip to the free throw line with about 21 seconds left and hit his second attempt to make it 62-61.

Cody came up empty on its ensuing trip down the court and Powell, up by one, got possession with about 10 seconds left.

Brown had a tooth knocked out of place amid the battle for the ball, though the senior was able to temporarily push it back into position; in the chaos of the moment, coach Kistler thought Brown had only suffered a bloody lip.

“... He didn’t say anything about the tooth until after the game,” Kistler said, indicating that Brown was determined to keep playing. “He told me, ‘Even if it would have fallen out, I wouldn’t come out,’” Kistler recalled.

Things didn’t end there, however, as, amid some tight Bronc coverage, Brown turned the ball over on the inbound pass. That gave Cody another chance to win.

However, the Broncs’ last-second shot didn’t go in — and neither did two final attempts to tip the ball in the net.

“Sometimes you just get lucky,” Kistler said, “and they missed.”

PHS fans stormed the floor of the Sweitzer Gymnasium to celebrate with the Panther basketball team on the court.

Lengfelder scored 19 points to lead the Panthers offensively. Marchant, meanwhile, hit double digits for the fourth straight game. He added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor while chipping in six rebounds, five steals and five assists. Senior Aidan Jacobsen also hit double digits, contributing 10 points, while Brown added nine points and five rebounds.

Junior Landon Sessions scored four points and grabbed five rebounds for PHS. Fellow juniors Adrian Geller and Trevor Groves each had two points apiece.

The Panthers shot a stellar 50 percent from the floor — making 25 of 50 attempts — but sank only 9 of 21 free throws for a lackluster 43 percent.

Free throws are a part of every Panther practice, but in the coming weeks, “we’ll definitely put a little bit more pressure on the free throws scenarios,” Kistler said.

Overall, the coach is pleased with where his team sits heading into 2020.

“Being in the win column is definitely a plus going into break and it gives you some positive things to look forward to after break,” he said. “And a little bit of confidence coming out of break, too.”

The Panthers return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 7, when they’ll head to Cowley to face the Class 2A Grizzlies at Rocky Mountain High School.