Coming into this season Panthers’ head coach Mike Heny knew there would be growing pains with a team that had limited varsity experience and was mostly comprised of sophomores. The Panthers (9-8 overall, 1-3 3A Northwest) are starting to see their growth shine through, defeating 3A No. 4 Buffalo 51-45 on Friday, and dropping a close contest to No. 2 Worland 52-45 on Saturday.

POWELL 51, BUFFALO 45

A rematch on Friday featured a matchup from the opening weekend of the season that saw Buffalo (12-5 overall, 2-2 3A Northeast) defeat the Panthers 62-55 in Buffalo.

Playing at home for the first time in three weeks, Powell came out firing.

Senior Zach Ratcliff got the Panthers off the ground running, as he scored nine of his 10 points in the first quarter, as Powell blitzed out to a 24-8 lead after the first.

“The first quarter against Buffalo is a good indication of how we can play when everyone is running on all cylinders,” Heny said.

After the fast start, the Panthers slowed down as the scoring for both teams was few and far between in the second period.

The game plan of keeping Buffalo as a shooting team allowed Powell to slow them down, as the Panthers scoring slowed significantly. Powell was able to maintain a double digit lead thanks to their defense as they led 30-19 going into the break.

After a successful first half gameplan keeping the Bison outside, Buffalo started out the second half attacking.

Thanks to their attacking style, Buffalo forced a third foul early in the half on sophomore guard Gunnar Erickson which sent him to the bench for a majority of the third quarter.

After holding a 33-23 lead with five minutes remaining in the quarter, Buffalo closed the quarter on a 12-5 run and pulled the game to one possession at 38-35 to end the third.

“We did not execute on the defensive end at times during the second half with regards to the shots we gave up around the rim,” Heny said. “We did a poor job talking through screens and jumping the dribble on our switches.”

Both teams locked down defensively to start the final quarter, as Powell held on to a four point lead with 3:49 remaining.

A strong fourth quarter effort late from sophomore Brock Johnson allowed the Panthers to finish with the 51-45 victory, as his layup with 18 seconds left sealed the contest.

Senior Toran Graham led the way with 14 points, Johnson finished with a 12 point 10 rebound double double and Ratcliff finished as the other Panther in double figures.

WORLAND 52, POWELL 45

Following the victory on Friday, the Panthers carried a five game win streak into Saturday, and were met by No. 2 Worland (17-1 overall, 5-0 3A Northwest) for the third time this season.

Powell, much like Friday’s game, came out strong. 

The Panthers held an early lead in the contest as Erickson helped the Panthers push the pace on Worland.

After trailing early, the Warriors went on a run to take a 19-9 lead off their press. During the run, the Warriors appeared ready to run away with the contest for the third consecutive time.

During the run, Johnson got his second foul which sent the Panthers leading scorer to the bench for a majority of the first half.

At the end of the first quarter, Erickson led the way with nine points as Powell trailed 19-14.

Both teams struggled to find the basket in the second quarter.

Neither team was able to score or pull away, as the Panthers held Worland to five points in the quarter, and tie the score 24-24 going into halftime.

After the break, both teams found more scoring opportunities as the Warriors led 34-28 with 2:21 left in the quarter.

The Panthers continued to play without their leading scorer, as Johnson picked up his third foul early in the quarter.

“We were able to get big contributions from our bench players in both games when we got into a bit of foul trouble,” Heny said. “We need to continue to get that energy, defense and scoring out of our bench so we can keep the pressure on the other team while our leaders are resting or in foul trouble.”

Trailing going into the fourth quarter, the Panthers knew they needed to be physical in order to pull the upset.

Powell pulled within three points after a 3-pointer by sophomore Trey Stenerson with 5:20 left made it 41-38.

As the intensity rose, the game stopped for nearly 10 minutes as a bleeding player impacted players’ jerseys and the court.

After the blood break and two jersey swaps, Worland pulled away and made free throws down the stretch to walk away with a 52-45 victory.

“We continue to improve in all facets of the game and even though we did not get the win against Worland, I like how much progress we have made from the first time we played them,” Heny said. “We still have areas we can improve on, but the lessons we are learning will help us down the stretch going into the regional tournament.”

Erickson led the way with 12 points and was the only Panther to reach double figures. 

FINAL WEEKS

The Panthers are heading into their final two weeks of the regular season, as the regional picture becomes clearer.

Powell will host two 3A Southwest opponents this upcoming weekend, as they take on No. 5 Lyman (9-8 overall, 3-0 3A Southwest) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Mountain View (8-11 overall, 2-2 3A Southwest) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Heny knows that these games are important as they are both potential regional opponents which the Panthers will host at the start of March.

“We gave up too many easy outside shots against Worland and they made us pay for those mistakes,” Heny said. “Since it is a good possibility we will face either of these teams, or both at regionals, we want to make sure we are focused on what we need to do to win.”

POWELL 51, BUFFALO 45

Points — Toran Graham 14, Brock Johnson 12, Zach Ratcliff 10, Trey Stenerson 4, Keaton Rowton 3, Jhett Schwahn 3, Gunnar Erickson 3, Jay Washington 2

Rebounds — Johnson 10, Graham 8, Ratcliff 4, Schwahn 2, Erickson 2, Washington 1

Assists — Johnson 6, Erickson 3, Schwahn 1, Stenerson 1

Steals — Erickson 5, Graham 1, Johnson 1, Schwahn 1, Ratcliff 1

WORLAND 52, POWELL 45

Points — Erickson 12, Ratcliff 9, Graham 8, Schwahn 5, Johnson 4, Stenerson 3, Rowton 2, Washington 2

Rebounds — Graham 11, Johnson 7, Washington 7, Stenerson 4, Erickson 3, Schwahn 2, Ratcliff 2, Rowton 1

Assists — Johnson 3, Erickson 2, Stenerson 1, Ratcliff 1, Washington 1, Graham 1

Steals — Johnson 1, Stenerson 1, Ratcliff 1, Erickson 1