Solid showingTrailing by 14 points in the final game of the 2008-09 season, the Powell High School boys' basketball team faced a number of losses.Not only did a defeat at the hands of Torrington seem likely, but the contest — win or lose — would be the last game for eight PHS seniors and the Panthers' head coach.But instead of giving up and calling it good enough, the boys rebounded from a sluggish first half to claim a 51-45 victory for the Class 3A consolation championship.The game capped a successful run for the Panthers, who won their first games at state since the 2000-01 season.“It was a great experience to see this group of eight seniors go down to Casper in their first trip to the state tournament, and play three very good games against quality competition and prove to themselves and to everyone else that we did belong there,” said PHS head coach Troy Hildebrand.After dropping a 50-44 overtime heartbreaker against the eventual state-champion Buffalo Bison on Thursday, the Panthers rebounded in dramatic fashion to top Newcastle (57-55) on Friday and Torrington on Saturday.“For me personally, this team — for not only this season but the past three seasons — has been a great work in progress to watch come together, and I couldn't be happier for them to end their time in the Panther basketball program as the winners that I know they are,” said Coach Hildebrand, who had announced last week that this would be his final season.The Panthers, the lowest-seeded team from Class 3A West, opened the state tournament with a nail-biting loss to Buffalo, the No. 1 seed from the East.“We feel like we gave Buffalo a great scare and test in that first round ... that not many people outside of our locker room probably expected,” said Hildebrand.The two squads entered the final period tied, 31-31.With just less than three minutes remaining, and the Panthers trailing 37-35, Matt McArthur hit a three-pointer. That gave the Powell its first lead over the Bison since an early 1-0 advantage.Powell High School would miss three free throws in the final minutes, but Galen Mills hit one to make it 39-37, Panthers.However, Buffalo's Robby Trabing responded at the 1:37 mark with a trey to put the Bison back on top by one.With just 32 seconds left in regulation, Jordan Brown rebounded his own miss and nailed a bucket to reclaim a Panther lead at 41-40.Buffalo headed down the court with the final seconds sliding away. Trabing misfired, but grabbed his own rebound. The clock wound down to four seconds as Buffalo missed again, but the ball again ricocheted to Trabing — who couldn't get a basket, but was fouled with just three seconds left.Trabing missed the first free throw, but buried the second, sending the contest into a bonus period.“During the final 10 seconds we really just needed a rebound to go our way, (but) Buffalo was able to keep the ball alive and continue battling on the offensive glass,” said Hildebrand.In overtime, the Panthers missed some offensive opportunities and the Bison capitalized, taking the lead for good at the 2:37 mark.Buffalo hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the deal at 50-44.In the contest, Powell hit just four of 16 free throws, and shot 27 percent from the field.“We came out and played incredibly well,” said Hildebrand. “We did everything we had to do to have a chance to win, except shoot the ball at a decent percentage from the floor and at the line.”Hildebrand said the unfamiliar shooting backdrop of the Casper Events Center was the obvious factor in the struggles.Brown led with 19 points. McArthur followed with seven. Gavin Mills — who pulled down a squad-best eight rebounds — and Ryan Brandt added in six points each. Galen Mills contributed four, and Matt Kifer added two.Powell vs. NewcastleOn Friday in the consolation bracket, the Panthers faced Newcastle. The Dogies held a slim two-point, 22-20, lead at the half, but over the course of the third quarter, they opened up a commanding lead.Newcastle outscored Powell 21-11 to open up a 45-33 lead at the start of the fourth.“The third quarter was straight out of the twilight zone for us,” said Hildebrand. “We had absolutely nothing go our way.”But the fourth quarter would prove as excellent as the third was awful.On the Panthers' first possession, Brandt took the ball to the hole, made the basket, drew a foul and made the extra free throw.On the Dogies' next possession, Matt Kifer enticed an offensive foul, getting the ball back for the Panthers. Brandt made another basket for five points in the quarter's first 45 seconds.With 6:45 remaining, Brown followed his own miss with a rebound and a put-back, and after a Brandt block on the other end, Galen Mills hit a basket to make it 45-42.Newcastle responded with a couple baskets to make it 49-42, but the Panthers continued to battle back.A late string of six points by Brown boosted PHS to 54-52 with a minute remaining. The Panthers made enough free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.Brown again led the team with 20 points, followed by Galen Mills with 11. Brandt followed with nine, McArthur eight, and Gavin Mills seven. Brandon Sullivan added two. Dallas Robirds contributed a pair of steals.The win earned PHS a shot at the consolation championship on Saturday afternoon.Powell vs. TorringtonThat game, against Torrington, started poorly, with the Panthers falling behind.The Trailblazers led 18-12 at the end of the first period, and in the first minutes of the second, they expanded their advantage to 27-13. “We suffered through an extremely sluggish first half,” said Coach Hildebrand. “We didn't seem to have the same energy and emotion we had played with in the first two days.”With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, the Trailblazers still led by 12, at 36-24.At that point, Ryan Brandt took the ball in the paint. He put up a shot and missed. He grabbed his own rebound, put it up again, and again came up empty. But Brandt came up with another rebound, and this time, sunk the basket to make it a 10-point game.Following Torrington's inbound pass, McArthur came up with a steal and a quick lay-up to cut it to eight.The Trailblazer's next possession would prove similar.Brown swiped the ball, took it in for a lay-up and drew the foul. He completed the three-point play to pull the Panthers within three at 36-33.Brown followed that effort with another steal and lay-in.PHS closed the quarter down just one — at 38-37.With about 15 seconds gone in the final period, Brandt fired a short jumper.It bounced around on the rim for a long second, threatened to roll away, but finally fell through the hoop to put Powell up 39-38.Torrington would not reclaim the lead.After the Trailblazers pulled even at 45-45, Galen Mills answered with two free throws, and Brown added another to make it 48-45 with 1:17 left.On Torrington's following possession, Galen Mills made a full-out dive for the basketball, slapping it towards mid-court. McArthur scooped up the ball and passed to Kifer, who dished to Gavin Mills, who was fouled. Gavin made one of two at the line — helping seal the victory.Hildebrand said he will always remember that sequence — his Panther boys locked in on defense, giving Torrington no open looks, until Galen Mills came up with the sprawling steal. Mills hit his head on the court — hard enough to get him bleeding. With blood on his jersey, Galen had to be removed from the game, but he returned just a few seconds later, sporting #42 rather than #24.Hildebrand said that effort and all-out energy represent what the team has become over the last three years.Brandt, in his strongest game of the tournament, led with 18 points and nine rebounds. Brown followed with 13 and McArthur with 12.Hildebrand praised McArthur's effort as “a game that fit right into the way he has played the entire season — with absolute 100 percent effort on both ends of the floor.”Gavin Mills added six points and Galen Mills two. “It was special for me in my last game as the head coach to see a team fight through the adversity and overcome everything that they did — not only this weekend, but in their entire careers — and have it end with us receiving a trophy at the state tournament,” Hildebrand said.

Solid showing

Trailing by 14 points in the final game of the 2008-09 season, the Powell High School boys' basketball team faced a number of losses.

Not only did a defeat at the hands of Torrington seem likely, but the contest — win or lose — would be the last game for eight PHS seniors and the Panthers' head coach.

But instead of giving up and calling it good enough, the boys rebounded from a sluggish first half to claim a 51-45 victory for the Class 3A consolation championship.

The game capped a successful run for the Panthers, who won their first games at state since the 2000-01 season.

“It was a great experience to see this group of eight seniors go down to Casper in their first trip to the state tournament, and play three very good games against quality competition and prove to themselves and to everyone else that we did belong there,” said PHS head coach Troy Hildebrand.

After dropping a 50-44 overtime heartbreaker against the eventual state-champion Buffalo Bison on Thursday, the Panthers rebounded in dramatic fashion to top Newcastle (57-55) on Friday and Torrington on Saturday.

“For me personally, this team — for not only this season but the past three seasons — has been a great work in progress to watch come together, and I couldn't be happier for them to end their time in the Panther basketball program as the winners that I know they are,” said Coach Hildebrand, who had announced last week that this would be his final season.

The Panthers, the lowest-seeded team from Class 3A West, opened the state tournament with a nail-biting loss to Buffalo, the No. 1 seed from the East.

“We feel like we gave Buffalo a great scare and test in that first round ... that not many people outside of our locker room probably expected,” said Hildebrand.

The two squads entered the final period tied, 31-31.

With just less than three minutes remaining, and the Panthers trailing 37-35, Matt McArthur hit a three-pointer.

That gave the Powell its first lead over the Bison since an early 1-0 advantage.

Powell High School would miss three free throws in the final minutes, but Galen Mills hit one to make it 39-37, Panthers.

However, Buffalo's Robby Trabing responded at the 1:37 mark with a trey to put the Bison back on top by one.

With just 32 seconds left in regulation, Jordan Brown rebounded his own miss and nailed a bucket to reclaim a Panther lead at 41-40.

Buffalo headed down the court with the final seconds sliding away. Trabing misfired, but grabbed his own rebound. The clock wound down to four seconds as Buffalo missed again, but the ball again ricocheted to Trabing — who couldn't get a basket, but was fouled with just three seconds left.

Trabing missed the first free throw, but buried the second, sending the contest into a bonus period.

“During the final 10 seconds we really just needed a rebound to go our way, (but) Buffalo was able to keep the ball alive and continue battling on the offensive glass,” said Hildebrand.

In overtime, the Panthers missed some offensive opportunities and the Bison capitalized, taking the lead for good at the 2:37 mark.

Buffalo hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the deal at 50-44.

In the contest, Powell hit just four of 16 free throws, and shot 27 percent from the field.

“We came out and played incredibly well,” said Hildebrand. “We did everything we had to do to have a chance to win, except shoot the ball at a decent percentage from the floor and at the line.”

Hildebrand said the unfamiliar shooting backdrop of the Casper Events Center was the obvious factor in the struggles.

Brown led with 19 points. McArthur followed with seven. Gavin Mills — who pulled down a squad-best eight rebounds — and Ryan Brandt added in six points each. Galen Mills contributed four, and Matt Kifer added two.

Powell vs. Newcastle

On Friday in the consolation bracket, the Panthers faced Newcastle. The Dogies held a slim two-point, 22-20, lead at the half, but over the course of the third quarter, they opened up a commanding lead.

Newcastle outscored Powell 21-11 to open up a 45-33 lead at the start of the fourth.

“The third quarter was straight out of the twilight zone for us,” said Hildebrand. “We had absolutely nothing go our way.”

But the fourth quarter would prove as excellent as the third was awful.

On the Panthers' first possession, Brandt took the ball to the hole, made the basket, drew a foul and made the extra free throw.

On the Dogies' next possession, Matt Kifer enticed an offensive foul, getting the ball back for the Panthers. Brandt made another basket for five points in the quarter's first 45 seconds.

With 6:45 remaining, Brown followed his own miss with a rebound and a put-back, and after a Brandt block on the other end, Galen Mills hit a basket to make it 45-42.

Newcastle responded with a couple baskets to make it 49-42, but the Panthers continued to battle back.

A late string of six points by Brown boosted PHS to 54-52 with a minute remaining. The Panthers made enough free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

Brown again led the team with 20 points, followed by Galen Mills with 11. Brandt followed with nine, McArthur eight, and Gavin Mills seven. Brandon Sullivan added two. Dallas Robirds contributed a pair of steals.

The win earned PHS a shot at the consolation championship on Saturday afternoon.

Powell vs. Torrington

That game, against Torrington, started poorly, with the Panthers falling behind.

The Trailblazers led 18-12 at the end of the first period, and in the first minutes of the second, they expanded their advantage to 27-13.

“We suffered through an extremely sluggish first half,” said Coach Hildebrand. “We didn't seem to have the same energy and emotion we had played with in the first two days.”

With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, the Trailblazers still led by 12, at 36-24.

At that point, Ryan Brandt took the ball in the paint. He put up a shot and missed. He grabbed his own rebound, put it up again, and again came up empty. But Brandt came up with another rebound, and this time, sunk the basket to make it a 10-point game.

Following Torrington's inbound pass, McArthur came up with a steal and a quick lay-up to cut it to eight.

The Trailblazer's next possession would prove similar.

Brown swiped the ball, took it in for a lay-up and drew the foul. He completed the three-point play to pull the Panthers within three at 36-33.

Brown followed that effort with another steal and lay-in.

PHS closed the quarter down just one — at 38-37.

With about 15 seconds gone in the final period, Brandt fired a short jumper.

It bounced around on the rim for a long second, threatened to roll away, but finally fell through the hoop to put Powell up 39-38.

Torrington would not reclaim the lead.

After the Trailblazers pulled even at 45-45, Galen Mills answered with two free throws, and Brown added another to make it 48-45 with 1:17 left.

On Torrington's following possession, Galen Mills made a full-out dive for the basketball, slapping it towards mid-court. McArthur scooped up the ball and passed to Kifer, who dished to Gavin Mills, who was fouled. Gavin made one of two at the line — helping seal the victory.

Hildebrand said he will always remember that sequence — his Panther boys locked in on defense, giving Torrington no open looks, until Galen Mills came up with the sprawling steal. Mills hit his head on the court — hard enough to get him bleeding. With blood on his jersey, Galen had to be removed from the game, but he returned just a few seconds later, sporting #42 rather than #24.

Hildebrand said that effort and all-out energy represent what the team has become over the last three years.

Brandt, in his strongest game of the tournament, led with 18 points and nine rebounds. Brown followed with 13 and McArthur with 12.

Hildebrand praised McArthur's effort as “a game that fit right into the way he has played the entire season — with absolute 100 percent effort on both ends of the floor.”

Gavin Mills added six points and Galen Mills two.

“It was special for me in my last game as the head coach to see a team fight through the adversity and overcome everything that they did — not only this weekend, but in their entire careers — and have it end with us receiving a trophy at the state tournament,” Hildebrand said.