Panthers win at home, stumble on road

Win against Cody gives season sweep

Posted 2/26/19

The Powell High School boys’ basketball team had an up-and-down end to the regular season last week, taking down Cody on Thursday before losing a tight contest in Lovell the following …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Panthers win at home, stumble on road

Win against Cody gives season sweep

Posted

The Powell High School boys’ basketball team had an up-and-down end to the regular season last week, taking down Cody on Thursday before losing a tight contest in Lovell the following evening.

The Panthers had already locked up the No. 2 seed in the Northwest Quadrant prior to Friday’s game at Lovell. But the loss — after leading by 12 in the third quarter — wasn’t how head coach Chase Kistler wanted to go into this week’s 3A West Regional Tournament in Worland.

“Our brackets are pretty well set in terms of wins and losses,” Kistler said. “But I wanted them to focus on the game and be playing their best basketball going into the tournament.”

The Panthers will open the regional tournament against Big Piney, the No. 3 seed out of the Southwest, on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Panthers 57, Cody 53

The Cody contest was the Panthers’ final home game of the season, and the team honored its five seniors — Kaelan Groves, Carson Heinen, William Preator, Dalton Woodward and Kain Baxter — before tip-off.

The first meeting between the two teams in December was a high-scoring affair, with Powell breaking the Broncs on their home court 73-69.

The rematch was no less thrilling, with Powell staving off a fourth-quarter comeback by the Broncs to sweep the season series, 57-53.

“It’s always good to beat your rivals, and twice in one season is great,” Kistler said. “But like I told the guys, I don’t care about win/lose; I just want us playing the best basketball we can be playing right now.”

The Panthers had the upper hand early, jumping out to a 23-11 lead in the first quarter. Cody regrouped in the second, going on a 17-6 run in the quarter to cut the lead to 29-28 at halftime. Cody has 4A’s leading scorer in Elijah Leyva and the senior didn’t disappoint, scoring 21 of his team’s 28 first-half points. Leyva’s explosion may have been by design, however; by letting Cody’s offense funnel through Leyva, the Panthers concentrated on shutting down the rest of the team.

For Powell, Groves and Preator led the team in the first half with five points apiece.

Cody came out swinging to start the second half, taking a three-point lead in the third quarter. The Panthers refocused and went on a 12-2 run, taking a 41-34 lead to start the final frame. Leyva scored 14 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough, as the Panthers held on for the 57-53 win.

“We didn’t shoot lights out or do anything spectacular, but we did a good job of finishing the game and closing them out,” Kistler said. “Our seniors came out strong right out of the gate — they really played hard. And our three bigs [Heinen, Woodward and Baxter], Cody really didn’t have an answer for. Kaelan [Groves] also played really consistent.”

Powell had two players score in double figures, with Groves and Heinen netting 13 points apiece. Preator followed with nine points, Jesse Brown chipped in seven and Baxter continued his strong play off the bench with six points.

“Kain [Baxter] is really good underneath the basket in terms of rebounding and put-backs,” Kistler said. “Early on, he was still kind of learning his role, because he was new to our team. He’s just now getting to the point where he can play the game without worrying where he’s supposed to be, play a little bit more.”

Woodward capped off his final home game with five points, while Landon Lengfelder and Mason Marchant were held to two points apiece.

Lovell 45, Panthers 43

With Powell already penciled in as a two-seed heading into the 3A West Regional Tournament, the Panthers were playing for pride and a season sweep against the Bulldogs Friday.

But after trailing by double-digits in the second half, Lovell fought its way back into the game, overtaking the Panthers late in the fourth and holding on for a 45-43 win.

Led by eight points from Heinen and six from Lengfelder in the first half, the Panthers held a 25-22 advantage at the break. Powell pushed that lead to 12 in the third behind five points each from Groves and Preator, but Lovell wouldn’t go away, cutting the lead to six by the end of the third. Lovell finally went ahead late in the fourth and held on; a shot by Marchant at the buzzer to tie the game fell short, and the Panthers returned to Powell with a 45-43 loss. The Panthers struggled at the free throw line in the fourth, going 0-8 in the period and 7-of-17 in the game.

Heinen was the lone Panther in double figures, netting 14 points. Groves followed with nine points, Preator netted eight and Lengfelder finished with six.

Powell High School, Panther Basketball

Comments