The Powell Panther boys’ basketball team put its losing streak to an end during a stretch of road games to end the month, defeating Buffalo on the road Friday 52-40 after the losing streak had extended to four games on Thursday after a 70-33 loss to Lovell.

LOVELL 70, POWELL 33

Matching up with the Bulldogs (14-1 overall, 3-0 3A West) for the second time in two weeks the Panthers (10-5 overall, 0-3 3A West) came out with a different defensive approach, starting in a zone to try slowing down the visitors.

The plan worked early, as neither team scored for nearly three minutes before Jaxon Hancock’s layup made it 2-0 in favor of Powell.

Late in the quarter Lovell found its offense, taking the lead and making it a 16-9 scoreline by the end of the quarter.

“We tried to adjust defensively against Lovell by playing more zone in the hopes of keeping them from getting into the paint by driving the ball and finishing or kicking to open shooters,” coach Mike Heny said. “Early on, we were doing a good job and they were missing some outside shots, but their shots started falling towards the end of the first quarter and they also got going in transition which put us in another early hole.”

Lovell quickly made it a double digit advantage in the second quarter at 22-11 within the first two minutes.

The Bulldogs kept pressing the initiative, making it a 31-14 game with 2:39 left and forcing a timeout from Powell.

Just before the halftime buzzer the Bulldogs extended their advantage to 19, with a buzzer beater 3-pointer to make it 35-16 at the break.

In the third quarter the Bulldogs extended their advantage just before the midway point, as the Panthers trailed 48-18 with 4:40 left.

Powell got some better scoring down the stretch, but still trailed 55-27 heading into the final frame.

In the fourth the teams got their bench units in late, as the Bulldogs finished with a 70-33 win.

“Lovell is a really complete team and doesn’t really have any major weaknesses,” Heny said. “They are the No. 1 scoring offense and defense so it’s difficult to stop them and hard to score against them. We’ll just have to continue to find options that allow us to close the gap on them by the end of February when we play them again.”

Nathan Preator was the lone Panther in double figures with 10, also leading with three assists and steals. Hancock led with eight rebounds for Powell.

POWELL 52, BUFFALO 40

Making the trip over the mountain on Friday the Panthers took on the Bison (8-5 overall, 3-1 3A East).

Slow scoring from both teams early saw the Panthers with a small advantage midway through, after an Alex Jordan free throw made it 5-4.

Powell built its lead out further by the end of the first, as a Taeson Schultz free throw late made it a 12-8 game heading into the second quarter.

Powell held its lead, but long range efforts from the Bison kept the contest close as the Panthers led 19-18 with three minutes left in the half.

Over those final minutes the Panthers had one last push, sparked by a Keona Wisniewski 3-pointer which led to a 9-0 run capped off by a Preator layup to make it a 28-18 game at the break.

“Against Buffalo we were a lot more patient on offense at times which allowed us to get better looks from the perimeter, but we were also a lot more aggressive in finding opportunities to drive and finish around the rim,” Heny said. “Attacking the rim and moving the ball really provided the difference as the space the kids had to get off outside shots was much improved over the previous few games. I felt like the kids really forced Buffalo to guard both sides of the floor in the half court and that was a key difference in how we played offensively.”

The lead reached 13 midway through the quarter after a Dawson Griffin 3-pointer made it 33-20, with Powell trying to pull away.

Buffalo cut the lead down to nine points, but a 3-pointer by Schultz maintained Powell’s advantage.

The Bison made a stronger push down the stretch, cutting the deficit down to six as the Panthers led 40-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter Powell pushed it back over double digits as Wisniewski’s 3-pointer made it 45-34.

Buffalo again cut the lead to six, but the Panthers had answers down the stretch.

The lead hung around 6-8 until Alex Jordan finished in the lane to make it 49-39 with 1:30 remaining.

Powell saw out the contest and earned a 52-40 win to snap its losing skid at four games.

“The win against Buffalo definitely was the medicine we needed as we head into the final stretch of the regular season,” Heny said. “However, the focus will continue to be placed on getting better each day in practice so we don’t have those extended periods of games where we can’t get stops defensively and struggle on the offensive end. As a team, we still have a lot we can improve upon and that is always a good feeling as a coach — knowing we haven’t played our best basketball yet.”

Jordan led with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Hancock and Griffin each had 10 points as the other Panthers in double figures.

Wisniewski led with four assists.

LONG ROAD TRIP

Powell now heads on one of its longest road trips of the season, going to the southwest corner of the state to take on Bridger Valley opposition.

The weekend will start against Lyman (7-9 overall, 1-3 3A West) at 7 p.m. on Friday, before taking on Mountain View (6-9 overall, 1-3 3A West) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“The long road trip will give us the chance to build upon what went well in these past few weeks, and correct and improve upon what didn’t,” Heny said. “As long as we continue to stay together and play hard, the results of the kids’ hard work will come.”

These games will have added meaning compared to years past, as they will affect postseason seeding at the regional tournament in March.

LOVELL 70, POWELL 33

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Nathan Preator 10, Jaxon Hancock 6, Dawson Griffin 5, Evan Whitlock 4, Alex Jordan 4, Taeson Schultz 2, Keona Wisniewski 2

Rebounds — Jaxon Hancock 8 (1), Alex Jordan 6 (4), Evan Whitlock 4 (3), Nathan Preator 3 (2), Dawson Griffin 3 (2), Taeson Schultz 2 (1), Landon Hyde 1 (1)

Assists — Nathan Preator 3, Keona Wisniewski 2, Dawson Griffin 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Alex Jordan 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 3, Keona Wisniewski 1

Blocks — Nathan Preator 1, Jaxon Hancock 1

POWELL 52, BUFFALO 40

Points — Alex Jordan 15, Jaxon Hancock 10, Dawson Griffin 10, Taeson Schultz 7, Keona Wisniewski 6, Nathan Preator 4

Rebounds — Alex Jordan 9 (5), Jaxon Hancock 8 (3), Dawson Griffin 8 (1), Evan Whitlock 4 (1), Nathan Preator 2 (1), Taeson Schultz 1, Keona Wisniewski 1

Assists — Keona Wisniewski 4, Nathan Preator 3, Alex Jordan 3, Dawson Griffin 3, Taeson Schultz 1, Evan Whitlock 1

Steals — Jaxon Hancock 2, Dawson Griffin 2, Alex Jordan 1

Blocks — Jaxon Hancock 2