The Powell Panther boys’ basketball team rallied from 12 points down and took the lead with four seconds left Friday, but fell to 0-4 in conference action after Worland sank a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Powell 78-75 in overtime.

WORLAND 78, POWELL 75 (OT)

Getting back on the court after a weekend off due to snow the Panthers (10-6 overall, 0-4 3A West) matched up with the Warriors (9-8 overall, 4-3 3A West).

Powell showed no signs of rust early, taking a 7-0 lead capped off by an Evan Whitlock jumper  with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

“I thought the kids came out and played really well early in the game,” coach Mike Heny said. “They were patient on offense and on point defensively. The two weeks off definitely was a factor as the game went on, but I was pleased to see that the long layoff didn’t impact us too much.”

Worland got on the board and held the Panthers scoring down late, as Powell took a 10-7 lead heading into the second quarter.

In the second the Warriors started their push, taking the lead inside the first minute up 13-12.

The two teams exchanged baskets back and forth, as Worland led 22-21 just over midway through the second quarter after a Dawson Griffin layup.

Powell regained the lead shortly after a Whitlock layup, but a late push behind 3-pointers by the Warriors gave Worland a 34-28 lead heading into the break.

In the third quarter the Panthers were unable to cut the lead down further, with Worland pushing the lead to 46-36 midway through.

Trailing by 12 points with just under two minutes left the Panthers closed the gap heading into the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 run spearheaded by Alex Jordan to make it a 52-47 contest.

“AJ had a great second half after having to sit in the second quarter with two fouls,” Heny said. “He was aggressive and Worland was having a hard time keeping him from driving and finishing at the rim. He made a number of difficult shots and really set the tone as we cut into the lead.”

Early in the fourth the Warriors once again pushed their lead out, making it a 59-51 game just over two minutes in.

Powell made its final push late, getting four straight points by Jaxon Hancock to pull within one trailing 63-62.

After a free throw, Powell finally tied the contest once again with just over a minute left on a Griffin layup to tie it at 64.

An offensive foul gave the Panthers the ball back, and Powell called a timeout with 36 seconds left to talk about the final stretch of the contest.

Powell worked time off the clock, cutting it down to under five seconds when Griffin hit a corner 3-pointer to give Powell a 67-64 advantage with 4.4 seconds left.

Worland called a timeout and drew up a play, sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 67-67 and head to overtime.

The two teams exchanged back and forth over the first two minutes of overtime, with Powell matching Worland each time until it was tied at 71.

Worland took a 73-71 lead with a minute left, but Powell was unable to answer as the Panthers went 1-2 at the line.

The Warriors made 1-2 after they were fouled, and a turnover by Powell gave Worland the opportunity to make it a two possession game after another foul.

Worland did just that, making it 76-72, but Griffin made it a one point game after another 3-pointer.

A foul with 5.5 seconds left sent Worland to the line, and the Warriors made both to make it 78-75.

Nathan Preator got a shot up at the buzzer but it was wide as the Panthers fell 78-75.

“Losing after coming all the way back to take the lead with four seconds left was really difficult to take,” Heny said. “We really needed the conference win and I thought the kids battled hard throughout the contest but we came up short in overtime. The Worland kid made a big shot to tie it and it’s tough to rebound on the road in a situation like that when we spent so much energy to be in a position to win and let it slip away.”

Griffin led the Panthers with 23 points, just ahead of Jordan with 22 as Hancock added a 12 point, 12 rebound double-double.

Whitlock led with six assists.

BUSY WEEK

Powell continued its busy slate of games on the road Monday, taking on Lyman (7-11 overall, 1-5 3A West); that game was determined after the press deadline.

The Panthers continue on to Mountain View (7-11 overall, 1-5 3A West) today (Tuesday) at 3:30 p.m. to take on the Buffalos.

“Our schedule is difficult this week but maybe turning around and playing right away will work to our advantage,” Heny said. “We just need to continue to focus on getting better on both ends of the floor and getting used to different personnel combinations as we finish the conference schedule. The margin for error now is pretty slim so we need to find a way to scratch out as many wins as we can over the next two weeks.”

WORLAND 78, POWELL 75 (OT)

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Dawson Griffin 23, Alex Jordan 22, Jaxon Hancock 12, Nathan Preator 9, Taeson Schultz 5, Evan Whitlock 4

Rebounds — Jaxon Hancock 12 (6), Evan Whitlock 4 (1), Nathan Preator 3, Alex Jordan 3 (1), Dawson Griffin 2 (1), Taeson Schultz 1

Assists — Evan Whitlock 6, Alex Jordan 5, Taeson Schultz 4, Dawson Griffin 3, Nathan Preator 2

Steals — Nathan Preator 2, Alex Jordan 2, Dawson Griffin 1

Blocks — Jaxon Hancock 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Alex Jordan 1