After a slow start to the conference season, the Panther boys’ basketball team was looking for an answer as they went on the road. The Powell High School squad came away with two victories — one at Lovell on Friday and getting revenge on Cody on Saturday.

POWELL 47, LOVELL 24

Earning their first win of the conference season against Lovell (4-9 overall, 0-3 3A Northwest) was a must for the Panthers (6-7 overall, 1-2 3A Northwest) after disappointing losses to Lander in overtime and Worland on the road.

Both teams struggled to get the lid off the basket early on, as Powell opened the game up 4-0 but Lovell responded to tie it 4-4.

Powell led 10-8 after a 3-pointer by sophomore Brock Johnson, but a Bulldog layup at the buzzer tied the contest at 10 heading into the second quarter.

“Lovell held Worland to seven points in the first quarter the weekend before so it just took us some time to figure out how to attack them,” Panther head coach Mike Heny said.

A quick basket by Lovell gave the Bulldogs the lead at 12-10, but that ended up being their only points in the quarter.

Powell took advantage and used Johnson’s scoring prowess to finish the quarter on a 14-0 run, taking a 24-12 lead into halftime.

Mistakes by the Panthers allowed Lovell to make it a single-digit game in the third quarter, with the Bulldogs getting as close as 24-15 before Powell found its offensive footing again.

“Cutting down on our turnovers was something we continued to work on during practice,” Heny said. “The live ball turnovers were hurting us the most as they were leading to easy buckets for our opponent.”

Despite another buzzer beater from Lovell, Powell headed into the fourth quarter with a 35-17 lead.

With the game in hand, the Panthers continued to stifle the Bulldogs, holding them to 14 points after the first quarter. PHS ran away with the contest 47-24 to earn their first conference win of the season.

Johnson finished with 16 points as senior Toran Graham joined him in double digit scoring with 10.

POWELL 57, CODY 49

Heading into Saturday night, Powell looked to build on their momentum as they traveled to Cody (3-9 overall, 1-2 4A West) — a team that beat the Panthers 53-49 just three weeks earlier.

Cody jumped out to a fast start, as a layup off the opening tip and free throws gave the Broncs the lead just a minute into the game.

The Panthers finally got going after a layup from sophomore Gunnar Erickson, but Cody used their size advantage inside early on, as they held a 9-4 lead with 2:59 left in the first quarter.

Erickson had another first quarter scoring flurry, hitting two 3-pointers en route to 10 points in the period as the Panthers took a 16-11 lead going into the second quarter.

“Brock [Johnson] and Gunnar [Erickson] each night made key shots that allowed us to spread the defense and get better looks,” Heny said. “Our ball movement on offense was key. The kids shared the ball extremely well and found the open play consistently both nights.”

Powell took advantage of a slow second quarter by Cody to open up a 29-18 lead with less than a minute left in the quarter. However, a free throw and a steal leading to a dunk gave Cody momentum going into halftime, albeit with Powell still up 29-21.

The two teams battled back and forth throughout the third quarter, as the Broncs pulled within six points multiple times, but were unable to make it a single possession game.

Powell pushed the lead back to 38-29 going into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers pushed the lead to 42-32. After being held scoreless in the first three quarters, Graham added seven points in the final period, helping PHS maintain its lead.

Cody made several attempts to pull within a single posession, but despite poor free throw shooting from the Panthers late, the Broncs were unable to rally. The Panthers held off their rivals for a 57-49 victory.

“Making free throws consistently will just have to be something we continue to work on,” Heny said. “It has been a factor in every close game we have lost and could have hurt us against Cody.”

Johnson again led the Panthers with 19 points and was joined by Erickson, who finished with 15.

ROAD TRIP

The Panthers will continue their road swing, as they head to the southwest corner of the state to take on Kemmerer (9-5 overall, 1-2 3A Southwest) on Friday and Pinedale (0-16 overall, 0-3 3A Southwest) on Saturday.

“This weekend’s games are important to try to build upon the progress we have made the past couple of weeks,” Heny said. “Kemmerer has our side’s leading scorer so that will be a challenge to try and limit his production.”

With two wins, the Panthers would move above .500 for the first time since their opening victory of the season on Dec. 10.

Heny said he knows the importance of this long road trip, and is hopeful his team will produce, as they have been good on the road this season.

POWELL 47, LOVELL 24

Points — Brock Johnson 16, Toran Graham 10, Marshall Lewis 7, Zach Ratcliff 5, Gunnar Erickson 5, Keaton Rowton 2, Jhett Schwahn 2

POWELL 57, CODY 49

Points — Johnson 19, Erickson 15, Graham 7, Ratcliff 6, Rowton 6, Schwahn 2, Trey Stenerson 2