Kicking off the season in Lander the Powell High School boys’ basketball team posted an undefeated start, defeating Newcastle 81-32 and Rawlins 64-45 on Friday before defeating Pinedale 70-63 on Saturday.

POWELL 81, NEWCASTLE 32

Beginning the year against a 3A East team the Panthers (3-0) took on the Dogies (0-3).

Powell got a strong start from Nathan Preator who scored the first eight points, but Powell trailed 11-10.

Taeson Schultz gave Powell the lead on a 3-pointer, and Powell extended that advantage to 18-11 to end the first quarter.

“The Newcastle game was typical for the first game of the season, especially early on,” coach Mike Heny said. “The kids were trying to adjust to the speed of the game and determine where we had some advantages against their defense. Also, since we hadn’t played Newcastle in several years, it took some time to determine what they were running and who their better players were offensively.”

Powell maintained that advantage until a Caden Nelson layup finally gave the Panthers a double-digit lead at 26-16 just past the midway point of the second quarter.

The Panthers kept pushing and made it a 40-25 game heading into halftime after a Sawyer Wormald layup.

Preator extended the lead to 20 at 45-25 on a jumper with 6:20 left.

Powell continued pressing from that point forward, expanding the lead and cruising late for an 81-32 win.

“Once the kids settled in, I thought they did a great job of taking away what Newcastle was trying to do on the offensive end and we really exploited our matchup advantages against their defense,” Heny said. “Holding them to nine total points in the second half was great to see from our defense.”

Preator and Nelson led the Panthers with 18 points each, joined by Schultz with 13 and Landon Hyde with 11 as the double-figure scorers.

Brady Harvey led with 12 rebounds, eight offensive, as Schultz and Hyde had 11 each to record double-doubles.

Shultz led with five assists, Preator led with five steals and four Panthers recorded a block.

POWELL 64, RAWLINS 45

Taking on another 3A East team the Panthers matched up with the Outlaws (1-2) as well on Friday.

The Outlaws had a slight lead 8-7 midway through the first quarter.

Similar to the first contest the Panthers gained the lead, and extended it to six before the end of the quarter on top 17-11 heading into the second.

This time the Panthers were unable to pull away early in the second quarter, as the Outlaws kept things close trailing 25-21 midway through the frame.

Powell pushed the initiative late, briefly holding a double-digit lead, but held a 33-25 advantage heading into the locker room.

Rawlins kept things close early in the third, until a Schultz layup made it 41-30 three minutes in.

Powell held its lead and was out in front 45-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

Both teams continually exchanged baskets throughout the fourth quarter, and the Panthers extended their lead slightly further to finish the game with the 64-45 win.

“The kids with less experience played better as the weekend progressed as they adjusted to playing at the varsity level,” Heny said. “The environment at these opening tournaments allows the younger kids a chance to relax and just let the game come to them since the crowds are smaller and we are playing teams on a neutral court.”

Schultz led with 19 points along with Preator adding 14 in double figures.

Harvey had 10 rebounds, Preator led with six assists and three blocks while Nelson added three steals.

POWELL 70, PINEDALE 63

Powell’s final game of the weekend came on Saturday, an early look at a 3A West opponent in the Wranglers (2-1).

Again both teams exchanged baskets early, as the Panthers trailed 9-6 midway through the first period.

Powell rallied and took the lead, as both teams found their scoring touch and a late Preator jumper made it 20-17 heading into the second quarter.

Pinedale started the second quarter on a 6-0 run, before both teams found their scoring groove — with the two teams deadlocked at 28 midway through.

The Wranglers then went on an 8-0 run over two minutes, and a 12-6 stretch overall to end the half, and the Panthers trailed 40-34 at halftime.

The Wranglers continued to lead in the third, up 46-39 just a couple of minutes in.

Powell went on an 8-0 run, capped by a Hyde layup to take the lead midway through.

The Panthers appeared destined for a one-point lead going into the fourth, but a Schultz 3-pointer from just inside half court made it 54-50 heading into the final frame.

“Taeson’s long three at the end of the third really gave us a boost going into that fourth quarter,” Heny said. “We really needed that shot of energy and it’s a little demoralizing for the other team as well. It pushed our lead to four and gave us the momentum we needed to push the lead to double digits and give us the cushion we needed to put Pinedale away down the stretch.”

Pinedale started the fourth on a 5-0 run to claim the lead, but Powell answered with a 6-0 run of its own.

That lead would not be relinquished, as Powell held on down the stretch for the 70-63 win to start 3-0.

Schultz led with 22 points, Preator had 19 and Hyde added 16 as the three in double figures.

Preator and Schultz led with eight rebounds each, Preator added four assists and Harvey led with three steals.

RETURN TO LANDER

Following the strong opening weekend the Panthers turn right back around and head to Lander for another two days of action, taking on three 3A East
teams.

The Panthers start with Wheatland (3-1) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday followed by Burns (4-1) at 6:30 p.m. before facing Douglas (1-2) at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

“It was a really nice start to go 3-0 this weekend without being at full strength. Having Abel [Teten] back this weekend will be nice as the level of competition will increase a lot with Wheatland and Douglas being ranked in the top five,” Heny said. “We’ll need to clean a number of things up defensively and we’ll have to figure out how to guard the 6-foot, 6-inch post from Douglas. Offensively, we just need to keep working on our execution in certain situations so we can get high percentage shots and take advantage of what we do best.”

POWELL 81, NEWCASTLE 32

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Nathan Preator 18, Caden Nelson 18, Taeson Schultz 13, Landon Hyde 11, Kason Sherman 9, Brady Harvey 8, Cody Fisher 3, Sawyer Wormald 3

Rebounds — Brady Harvey 12 (8), Taeson Schultz 11 (2), Landon Hyde 11 (4), Nathan Preator 6 (4), Sawyer Wormald 5 (3), Caden Nelson 3 (1), Kason Sherman 3 (1)

Assists — Taeson Schultz 5, Caden Nelson 4, Nathan Preator 3, Landon Hyde 3, Kason Sherman 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 5, Caden Nelson 4, Landon Hyde 1

Blocks — Nathan Preator 1, Caden Nelson 1, Taeson Schultz 1, Brady Harvey 1

POWELL 64, RAWLINS 45

Points — Taeson Schultz 19, Nathan Preator 14, Caden Nelson 9, Brady Harvey 9, Landon Hyde 7, Kason Sherman 5, Sawyer Wormald 1

Rebounds — Brady Harvey 10 (5), Taeson Schultz 9 (1), Caden Nelson 6 (3), Nathan Preator 3 (1), Landon Hyde 3, Kason Sherman 3 (1), Eli Dallman 1, Sawyer Wormald 1 (1)

Assists — Nathan Preator 6, Landon Hyde 4, Kason Sherman 3, Caden Nelson 2, Taeson Schultz 2, Brady Harvey 2

Steals — Caden Nelson 3, Nathan Preator 2, Taeson Schultz 2, Landon Hyde 1, Sawyer Wormald 1

Blocks — Nathan Preator 3, Caden Nelson 1, Brady Harvey 1

POWELL 70, PINEDALE 63

Points — Taeson Schultz 22, Nathan Preator 19, Landon Hyde 16, Brady Harvey 6, Caden Nelson 4, Kason Sherman 3

Rebounds — Nathan Preator 8 (3), Taeson Schultz 8, Landon Hyde 7 (2), Brady Harvey 6 (3), Caden Nelson 3

Assists — Nathan Preator 4, Taeson Schultz 3, Brady Harvey 2, Kason Sherman 2, Caden Nelson 1, Landon Hyde 1, Eli Dallman 1

Steals — Brady Harvey 3, Nathan Preator 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Landon Hyde 1