Zach Heny wasn’t about to let Powell throw away a big lead against Jackson Saturday.

The senior guard once again displayed his nerve from the free throw line, hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter as the Panthers held on for a win on the road. The victory came on the heels of a hard-fought but disappointing loss at Afton to the first-place Star Valley Braves.

“I’m satisfied with it. We’re still moving forward,” head coach Chase Kistler said Sunday. “We bounced back pretty fast.”

The Panthers are now 5-3 in Class 3A West competition, 2-2 in Northwest play, which will determine seeding for the regional tournament, and 10-8 overall with two games left to play in the regular season. They are eyeing a pair of wins to set themselves up for a better seed in the regional tourney, slated for March 5-6 at Lander Valley.

Powell 74, Jackson 67

The Panthers built a comfortable lead Saturday afternoon and then hung on for a win at Jackson thanks to Heny’s hot hand and cool head at the free throw line.

Kistler said he was happy the way his team bounced back.

“We wanted to prove that we are a capable team,” he said. “I presented it to them as a challenge: You got another game tomorrow.”

Senior Matt Sweet opened the game with a 3-pointer and Powell kept hitting from the outside, building a lead as the other three seniors, Heny, Kalei Smith and Carter Baxter, also nailed shots from beyond the arc. The Panthers led 25-11 after one period and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the half. It was 40-25 at the break and PHS seemed have the game well in hand, with Smith netting 15 first-half points and Baxter and Heny both scoring 11.

The Broncs weren’t willing to go quietly, however, and fought back to cut the deficit to single digits late in the third period. Powell struggled at first before Smith hit a bucket and Baxter added a triple to right the ship. It was 50-40 going into the fourth period.

Both Smith and Baxter had four fouls and went to the bench for a bit in the fourth period but as Jackson rallied, Kistler put them back in the game. Smith later fouled out, but the Panthers, who shot 53 free throws in the game and made 38 (72 percent), were able to hold onto the lead despite a late flurry by the Broncs.

Heny made sure there would not be a miracle comeback by the home team by scoring both from the field and the line to ensure Powell hit the road with a win. He hit 9 of 10 free throws in the quarter and 16 of 20 in the game.

“He was definitely on from the free throw line,” Kistler said. “We need scoring outside of Kalei and Carter. And he’s definitely got to step up and be a contributor.”

Smith scored 22 points and Baxter added 17. Sweet finished with five, Moore had three and T.J. Abraham had two. Smith grabbed six rebounds and Baxter and Heny both had five. Powell out-rebounded Jackson 32-28.

Henry Geraci led Jackson, now 4-6 in conference play and 9-9 overall, with 18 points. Brennan Peterson had 17. Sam Dykema paced the Broncs with six rebounds; Peterson had five boards.

PHS hit just 9 of 26 shots from 2-point range, a 35-percent mark. The Panthers hit 6 of 11 3-pointers, good for 55 percent.

The Broncs shot well from inside the arc, hitting 24 of 46 shots from in close (52 percent), but were only 4 of 18 from long distance. They made 7 of 15 from the line.

“It was a long game,” Kistler said Sunday. “We had a pretty good lead and Jackson knew if they were going to get back into it they were going to have to score points without the clock running. They started fouling pretty early in the fourth period.”

Star Valley 56, Powell 50

Star Valley is the best defensive team in Class 3A and it displayed that during the second half of Friday night’s game.

The Braves held Powell to 20 second-half points and turned a one-point deficit at the break into a six-point win. Star Valley moved to 13-5 and held control of the West lead with a 7-1 record after a 57-32 blowout of Cody on Saturday.

The first half of Friday’s game was back-and-forth, with Smith scoring five early points and then handing out three assists as Powell built a 15-13 lead after the first quarter. But the Panthers went cold at the start of the second quarter and even with Star Valley star Cole Critchfield on the bench with two fouls, the hosts built a 23-17 lead.

Smith responded with six quick points and Jake Gallagher added a free throw and the game was knotted at 24-24. When Kristian Stenlund dropped in a pair from the line, Powell led 30-26. But a flashback to an unpleasant memory from the season’s opening weeks — a long 3-pointer on the buzzer by a Panther foe — happened again, as Star Valley’s Robbie Smith threw this one in, making it 30-29 at the half.

“It’s been kind of the same way every game. We kind of control the game and we end up giving up a shot in the closing seconds,” Kistler said. “We didn’t contest it nearly as much as we could. It is frustrating.”

But he said it isn’t really that surprising.

“You look at the talent across our 3A basketball this year, they hit them on a regular basis,” Kistler said.

Critchfield went on a rampage to open the second half, as the smooth guard hit six quick points.  He added a 3-pointer near the end of the quarter as the Braves took the lead, although Smith responded with a swooping score to make it 44-42 Star Valley after three.

The Braves opened the fourth quarter by finding Critchfield all alone in the corner and he nailed a triple. The Braves’ Bronson Muir then made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a score to give them a 51-44 lead.

“He’s a solid player,” Kistler said of Critchfield. “He’s definitely a playmaker, he gets his team involved early in the game and then late in the game, he shoulders the load. It was an out-of-bounds play. It was just one of those mental errors. You don’t leave a shooter like that.”

Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers late but the Braves were in control and they celebrated after what was obviously a big win for them.

Smith was right at his average, netting 26 points. Baxter added 10, Moore had five, Gallagher had four, Heny dropped in three and Stenlund had two. Smith had six rebounds; Baxter grabbed four.

Critchfield hit 18 and Muir had 12 points and six rebounds; Reese Hiibel grabbed five boards. Star Valley won the glass battle 21-17.

Powell shot well up close, making 15 of 27 shots from 2-point range, a 56-percent success rate. They hit 4 of 14 from outside, however, hitting 29 percent of the 3-pointers they attempted. The Panthers hit 8 of 11 from the line, or 73 percent.

The Braves were 16 of 31 from 2-point range (52 percent) and 4 of 13 (31 percent) from long distance. They hit 12 of 16 from the free throw line, a 75-percent success rate.

Kistler said despite the loss, the Panthers benefited from the game, played amidst screaming fans using noisemakers to add to the din.

“It was good experience in Star Valley with a pretty hostile, old-school environment, a heated game,” he said. “We just didn’t play well enough to win. Very few mistakes were made. It really felt like regionals and state basketball, where every possession count.”

The Braves and their fans celebrated the win long and loud.

“It’s been that way with all our sports this year,” Kistler said. “Everyone gets up to play the Panthers.”

PHS wraps up the regular season with a pair of games this week. They travel to Cody for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff Thursday and then play their final home game of the year at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Lovell. PHS lost to Cody in an overtime classic at Panther Gym on Feb. 6 and breezed past Lovell by 21 on Jan. 23 on the Bulldogs’ home court.