Following a difficult first half where the Powell Panther boys’ basketball team couldn’t find an offensive rhythm, the Panthers regained their footing in the second half against the Lander Tigers — winning 65-53 and moving their season record to 14-0.

POWELL 65, LANDER 53

Continuing their road trip, the Panthers (14-0 overall, 3-0 3A Northwest) made the trip down to Fremont County to take on the Tigers (4-11 overall, 2-1 3A Southwest) in cross-quadrant action.

Powell defeated Lander 61-34 in the opening game of the season, and was looking to repeat the success despite a late shift in the normal rotation.

Slow scoring plagued both teams in the first quarter, with the Panthers holding an 8-5 lead midway through the frame.

Each team only found the basket one more time the rest of the first, as Powell held a 10-7 lead heading into the second quarter.

“Early on in the Lander game it took us a while to get things going on the offensive end,” coach Mike Heny said. “Lander’s zone is difficult to attack when you get impatient and I thought we were rushing our shots a little bit. We were getting good looks but it is difficult to simulate their zone in practice so it always takes some time to adjust.”

The hosts took the lead via an 8-2 run to open the second quarter, with the Panthers looking for a spark offensively.

Lander eventually pushed the lead out to 18-13 before an and-one from Alex Jordan and a Brock Johnson 3-pointer gave the Panthers a 19-18 lead.

That was a lead Powell would not relinquish, as a Jordan basket accounted for the final points of the half and the Panthers held a 25-21 lead at the break.

“At halftime I just told them to keep attacking and our shots would start falling with more consistency,” Heny said. “Our defense had kept us in the lead and we just needed to adjust where we were looking to attack the zone.”

After halftime, Lander scored first before the Powell offense started rolling.

A Trey Stenerson basket and a Gunnar Erickson jumper capped a quick run, pushing the lead out to 32-23.

That jumper helped spark Erickson, who couldn’t find an offensive rhythm in the first half and was in foul trouble.

“Gunnar still wasn’t 100% after being sick early in the week so we weren’t as sharp as we had been the past couple of games in the first half,” Heny said.

Free throws were common throughout the night, and Erickson hit three of five on two consecutive possessions to give Powell the double digit lead up 38-26.

The lead continued to grow, and the Panthers took a 45-28 lead heading into the final frame.

Powell held a 19-point lead multiple times but was unable to ever get it over 20 and Lander to cut the lead down to as little as 10 but never getting it to single digits late as Powell finished with a 65-53 win.

The Panthers finished a strong 23-31 at the free throw line, as Heny was happy with the way the Panthers attacked the Tiger defenders throughout the contest.

“Our advantage at the free throw line was a major factor in us getting the win,” Heny said. “I thought the kids attacked their defenders when they got out of position and forced them to have to foul us. Other than a rough stretch in the third quarter, the kids were able to knock down those opportunities at the line.”

Johnson led with 16 points, just ahead of Erickson with 15 while Marshall Lewis and Jordan had 11 apiece.

Stenerson added eight and led the team with 11 rebounds, with seven of those offensive.

GAME CANCELED, TESTS INCOMING

Powell was supposed to head to Pinedale on Saturday for a top three matchup, but the No. 1-ranked Panthers were unable to make it over South Pass to take on the No. 4-ranked Wranglers.

The Lander victory was the 11th double-digit win by the Panthers this season, as they have just three weeks left of the regular season before postseason play starts at the end of February.

One test that will come Friday is a trip to Worland, a place where the Panthers have not defeated the Warriors (8-9 overall, 1-2 3A Northwest) since January 2019.

“Going into the week we will just need to clean things up on both ends of the floor,” Heny said. “Friday night in Worland will be difficult and we will have to play well in all three phases to get another quad win on the road.”

That game at 7 p.m. will kick off the second half of quadrant play, with Powell sitting on top of the 3A Northwest with the Warriors in third.

The Panthers defeated Worland 61-35 in Powell on Jan. 20.

Powell will then take on one of the top teams in the 3A East in the No. 5-ranked and 3A Northeast leading Buffalo Bison (7-7 overall, 3-0 3A Northeast).

“The Buffalo game on Saturday is another chance for us to play a quality opponent as we prepare for the final couple of weeks in the regular season,” Heny said. “It will be nice to finally get back home and play in front of our fans again so hopefully that will give us an added advantage.”

That will start a string of four straight home games for the Panthers before ending the season on the road in Thermopolis.

All rankings are courtesy of the WyoPreps Coaches and Media Poll.

POWELL 65, LANDER 53

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Brock Johnson 16, Gunnar Erickson 15, Marshall Lewis 11, Alex Jordan 11, Trey Stenerson 8, Evan Whitlock 2, Dawson Griffin 2

Rebounds — Trey Stenerson 11 (7), Alex Jordan 8 (4), Gunnar Erickson 7 (2), Brock Johnson 3 (1), Dawson Griffin 3 (1), Cade Queen 3 (1), Evan Whitlock 2 (1), Marshall Lewis 2

Assists — Brock Johnson 3, Marshall Lewis 1, Alex Jordan 1, Dawson Griffin 1, Gunnar Erickson 1, Cade Queen 1

Steals — Brock Johnson 3, Trey Stenerson 1, Alex Jordan 1, Gunnar Erickson 1, Cade Queen 1

Blocks — Brock Johnson 1, Trey Stenerson 1, Alex Jordan 1, Cade Queen 1