The Powell High School boys lost in Thursday’s first round of the Class 3A state basketball tournament, and on Friday afternoon in the consolation bracket, they found themselves down 22 points at the half.

In the locker room, with elimination and the end of the season looming, PHS head coach Chase Kistler asked his four seniors how they wanted to be remembered, and asked his younger players how they wanted to head into the offseason.

“I just told them it’s not about winning or losing this game, but it’s just kind of, ‘How do you want to finish these last two quarters?’” Kistler said.

The Panthers came up nine points short of Star Valley that day, 75-66, but only after a late rally highlighted by senior Carter Baxter’s 32 second-half points.

“They battled as well as they could have,” Kistler said.

PHS’ Friday exit from the Casper tournament followed a 64-51 loss to the eventual state champion Buffalo Bison the day before.

“It’s not the finish that we really wanted and worked for,” Kistler said of the Panthers’ early exit, adding, “We just played really tight and couldn’t get anything going, couldn’t get any momentum going, or nothing going.”

Buffalo 64, Powell 51

PHS (13-12 for the season) took an early 4-2 lead, but Buffalo (18-9) went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good.

The Bison led 28-20 at the half. An early third quarter basket from senior Kalei Smith and a 3-pointer from Baxter briefly cut the lead to three, 28-25, but Buffalo’s Trey Schroefel responded with a trey of his own. The Bison pushed their lead to as many as 15 points late in the third quarter.

The Panthers tried to claw their way back: in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, a 3-point play from junior Kaden Moore made it 45-39. PHS remained just six points back with a little over four minutes remaining, but Buffalo used a 9-1 run to effectively put the game out of reach.

Baxter led the team with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Smith added 10 points and five rebounds. Senior Zach Heny had seven points. Moore had five points and six rebounds. Senior Matt Sweet added four points, sophomore TJ Abraham three and junior Kristian Stenlund one.

As a team, PHS shot just 18 of 63 (28.6 percent) from the floor, including 3 of 25 from beyond the arc. Powell made 12 of its 20 free throw attempts (60 percent).

“Our shots weren’t falling,” Kistler said. “I mean, we had good looks and we were finding the shots, but we just couldn’t complete them; we couldn’t get them in the hole.”

PHS edged Buffalo in rebounding (32-31), but the Bison, who beat Worland in double overtime on Saturday for the 3A title, shot 48.9 percent from the floor.

“They were shooting well,” Kistler said of Buffalo. “They were motivated. You could tell that they were a determined team and they found ways to win.”

Star Valley 75, Powell 66

PHS sparred with Star Valley’s Braves in a back-and-forth first quarter that ended with Powell up 14-13.

The opening period came with a cost, however: Smith strained a ligament in an awkward landing and “I think it just kind of nagged him the rest of the game,” Kistler said.

Star Valley, meanwhile, dominated the second frame, starting it on a devastating 22-0 run. The Braves sank 11 of their 14 shots in the period, while PHS made just 2 of 12.

At the half, Star Valley led 41-19.

PHS trimmed the lead to 16 in the third quarter, but over the rest of the frame and the first few minutes of the fourth, Star Valley boosted its advantage all the way to 27 points, at 64-37.

That’s when the Panthers made their final hurrah.

Baxter, after being shut out in the first half, led the charge by piling up 23 points in the final six minutes of the game.

“I’ve seen some kids have great games, but to just get it going that quick and that short a time, it was just like, ‘Whoa,’” said Kistler.

Kistler praised Baxter’s “never give up, never quit” mentality in the second half.

“It couldn’t have happened to a better kid,” Kistler said. “He worked extremely hard for me all year, was a tremendous leader.”

Baxter made his final eight shots from the floor, including six 3-pointers. Smith added in a couple treys of his own to help chop the Braves’ lead all the way down to seven points with 12 seconds left. Ultimately, however, PHS ran out of time.

While Kistler appreciated the way his squad battled in the second half, he said if they’d played with that mentality the whole game, he doesn’t think they would’ve been in such a large hole.

Behind Baxter’s 32 points and 10 rebounds, Smith had 14 points and six boards. Sweet had six points, Heny five, Abraham four, Stenlund three and junior Jake Gallagher two.

The PHS boys shot 25 of 58 (44.6 percent) from the floor and made 13 3-pointers. They made all three free throws they tried.

Star Valley made 23 of their 42 attempts from the floor (54.8 percent) and 20 of 32 (62.5 percent) free throws.

The Braves, who went on to win the consolation championship, collected 27 rebounds to Powell’s 21.

It was the last game for PHS seniors Baxter, Heny, Smith — who leaves as Powell High School’s all-time leading scorer — and Sweet.

“Those guys have had a tremendous career,” said Kistler, adding, “They’re a great bunch of guys, and we’ve been through a lot — this town, this community’s been through a lot.”

“They just had ... not a typical senior season. ... The ups and downs and the bumps in the road, I thought they handled very well; I think they’ve really matured from it,” Kistler continued. “And I’m excited to see what the next choices are that they’re going to make in their life.”

The coach thanked his players, their parents, school administrators, broadcaster Scott Mangold of KPOW-AM and the Tribune for their support of the team this season.