The Panther boys’ basketball team ran into a hoops buzzsaw at Rocky Mountain High School on Tuesday night, dropping a 65-40 decision.

“They played well at home,” Powell High School head coach Chase Kistler said of Rocky Mountain. “They were on fire and our defense wasn’t ready to go tonight. We weren’t ready for what they had.”

What Rocky “had” most of all was the dribble penetration of 5-foot, 11-inch, junior Jess Wambeke whose 24 points led all scorers. Taylor Winland added 14.

Mason Marchant, Powell’s top scorer, accounted for 13 points, to which Landon Lengfelder added 10.

“It’s frustrating,” admitted Kistler, “but you’ve got to weather these storms. Our defense has to keep us in these games, and it didn’t happen.”

The Powell boys (3-2 overall) were overwhelmed by a first-half assault that saw the Grizzlies race to a 15-0 lead to start. Powell High School’s first points — a jumper from senior Jesse Brown — came with just 2:10 of the first eight minutes remaining.

A bucket from Marchant made it a 23-4 Grizzly advantage at the first buzzer.

The Panthers planted nine in the second quarter, but Rocky answered with 14 on its side of the board and at intermission Powell found itself in a 37-13 hole.

Kistler’s crew picked up the pace with 15 in the third period to Rocky’s 12 to make the count 49-28 after three.

Powell’s scoring surge continued in the fourth period with two 3-pointers from Trevor Groves, one off the fingers of Lengfelder and a 2-pointer apiece from Aidan Jacobsen and Landon Sessions.

The Panthers will seek a path back to victory Friday night when they host the Cody Broncos at Panther Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Rocky Mountain 44, Powell 25

Powell — Marchant 13, Lengfelder 10, Groves eight, Brown five, Jacobsen two, Adrian Geller two, Sessions two.

Rocky Mountain — Wambeke 24, Winland 14, Zach Simmons 11, Tyler Banks five, Dawson May five, Kendrick Beckman four, Branson Robinson two.