Panthers struggle against Bulldogs

Posted 12/20/16

“We started out slow,” PHS head coach Chase Kistler said of the Dec. 13 loss in Lovell.

Powell trailed 12-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The Panthers managed to claw their way back to three points, 18-15, toward the end of the second …

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Panthers struggle against Bulldogs

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Unable to rally from an early deficit, the Powell High School boys basketball struggled against the Lovell Bulldogs in a 57-43 loss last week.

“We started out slow,” PHS head coach Chase Kistler said of the Dec. 13 loss in Lovell.

Powell trailed 12-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The Panthers managed to claw their way back to three points, 18-15, toward the end of the second quarter.

With seconds remaining on the clock in the first half, a foul was called on TJ Abraham. As the players were lining up at the free throw line, a technical was called on Abraham.

“We had a kind of blow-up scenario where we gave up a foul, gave up a technical,” said Kistler. “Then we found ourselves down by seven or eight going into halftime. Then outside of that, we just couldn’t close the gap.”

Overall, the Panthers had 26 turnovers, with most of those occurring in the first half.

“They are struggling with the offense in terms of keeping possession of the ball,” Kistler said of his squad, attributing most of those turnovers to trying to force the ball.

As a team, Powell shot 29 percent from the field, 40 percent on free throws and 8 percent on 3-point shots.

“We didn’t play well from a lot of different aspects,” said Kistler. “We had a couple highlight moments.”

In the steals department, the team had 13 with Kaelen Groves, Abraham and Carson Heinen each having three.

Abraham was lead scorer with 12 points. Heinen followed with eight points and led in rebounding with nine boards — five on defense and four on offense.

Kistler did say that despite the loss, the Panthers played hard.

“Going into the break (we) have plenty of time to finish up — putting in what we need to, cleaning up what we need to,” said Kistler.

The Lovell game ended a stretch in which the Panthers (now 1-3 on the year) played four games over the course of five days.

After the Christmas break, the Panthers will resume action at the Battle of the Bighorns Tournament, which will take place in Powell and Cody. On Thursday, Jan. 5, and Friday, Jan. 6, the Panthers will play all games in Powell. Saturday’s location will depend on Friday’s wins and losses.

The Panthers’ first game of the tournament will be against Rocky Mountain at 7 p.m. on Jan. 5.

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