Starting off the season on the road the Powell Panther boys’ basketball team was tested in Lander, but finished games strong and swept the competition to begin the season 3-0 and expand its program record win streak to 31 games. Powell defeated Pinedale 60-54, Rawlins 64-46 and Lander 67-55.

POWELL 60, PINEDALE 54

Kicking off their 2024-25 campaign against the Wranglers (1-2), the Panthers (3-0) were looked to start strong in defending their state title.

Strong shooting gave the Wranglers the advantage early, holding a 10-4 lead midway through the first.

Powell started to find its offense but still trailed 15-12 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter the Panthers found their groove offensively, but were unable to stop the Wranglers and continued to trail 30-24 before a timeout from coach Mike Heny.

A quick spark from Nathan Preator helped the Panthers pull closer, before a Jaxon Hancock putback eventually tied the game at 30 with 1:20 left in the half.

Another Hancock basket just before the break gave Powell a 32-30 advantage heading into the locker room.

In the second half the Panthers started out in a zone, but miscommunications defensively led to open shots for the Wranglers as they regained the lead up 38-36 midway through the third.

Shooting beyond the arc continued to pace the Wranglers, and they led 44-42 heading into the fourth.

Powell tied the game at 48 with a pair of free throws by Dawson Griffin with just over six minutes left, and the Panthers eventually took the lead on a Griffin 3-pointer with 5:20 remaining in the game up 52-51.

Scoring was few and far between for both teams in the final five minutes, as Powell expanded its lead via a pair of Keona Wisniewski free throws to 55-52 with 1:27 remaining.

A free throw by Preator helped Powell keep a two point advantage up 56-54 with 36 seconds left, and his second attempt was tipped out and led to two free throws from Alex Jordan.

Jordan made four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the 60-54 Powell win.

“Learning how to close out games in a variety of ways and situations will be important each and every night for this group,” Heny said. “We had not defended the 3-point line very well for most of the game but the kids did a great job taking that away in the fourth quarter against Pinedale … It was also great to see this group close out the game at the free throw line, going 13-19 in the fourth quarter.”

Preator and Wisniewski tied for the team lead with 12 points, just ahead of Jordan who had 10.

Hancock had 15 rebounds, seven of them offensive, while Wisniewski led with three steals.

POWELL 64, RAWLINS 46

Heading into Friday the Panthers matched up with the Outlaws (0-3) looking to extend their program win streak record to 30 games.

Despite an early lead up 7-6 midway through the first quarter, a defensive breakdown led to a timeout for the Panthers.

Rawlins briefly took the lead 11-10 with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter, before baskets by Jordan and Preator gave Powell a 14-11 lead after the first.

In the second quarter Powell expanded its lead, when Taeson Schultz hit a 3-pointer to make it 22-18 midway through.

Two minutes later, a Jordan layup gave Powell its largest lead at that point in the game up 27-18 to force a Rawlins timeout.

Unfortunately, a late push by the Outlaws chipped away that advantage and the Panthers’ lead was 29-27 at the break.

In the third the Panthers pushed the lead out to 34-29 midway through after a Jordan layup.

Another Schultz 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in the quarter gave Powell momentum and a 39-31 lead after the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter both teams started strong, as Rawlins cut the lead down to 42-37 in less than a minute.

Powell responded, with a Griffin layup and Schultz 3-pointer making it a 47-37 advantage.

Rawlins made its run, but a Jordan 3-pointer kept it at double digits and the Panthers pulled away with some easy baskets down the stretch for the 64-46 win.

“We struggled a little against Rawlins on both ends for three quarters and played at an extremely high level in the fourth quarter,” Heny said. “Our shooting improved throughout the weekend as the kids got more accustomed to the speed of the game. It’s always an adjustment early in the season as the players are learning to execute at game speed. We try to go as hard as possible during practice but game speed is just different.”

Wisniewski led with 13 points, just ahead of Schultz and Jordan with 12 each.

Hancock led with 10 rebounds and added two blocks, while Whitlock and Wisniewski each had four assists.

POWELL 67, LANDER 55

On Saturday the Panthers took on the host Tigers and got off to a strong start from beyond the arc.

Three 3-pointers in the first two minutes helped Powell leap out to an 11-4 lead, and an Evan Whitlock layup gave Powell a double digit advantage up 15-5 three minutes into the game.

The strong shooting continued, and Powell enjoyed a 25-11 lead after the first.

Powell continued scoring in the second, pushing it to 32-14 in the first two minutes and forcing a Lander timeout.

A Whitlock 3-pointer with 2:35 left made it a 40-20 game, and the Panthers led 42-25 heading into the locker room.

In the third the Tigers started strong, making it 42-31 two minutes in and forcing a Panther timeout.

The lead cut down to single digits, but the Panthers regrouped and kept it at double digits the rest of the third.

Holding a 53-40 lead going into the fourth didn’t deter the Tigers, as they started out the fourth strong and cut the lead down as close as 54-49.

“I don’t feel like we had any offensive breakdown in the second half against Lander, the players just got worn down from a long weekend and a difficult schedule on Saturday. We aren’t quite in game shape just yet and our third game in three days took its toll on the kid’s legs,” Heny said. “Once our conditioning gets to where it needs to be I don’t think we’ll see the same level of shooting struggle we faced at times during the second half.”

Powell answered back, as Griffin hit a 3-pointer and added an and-one to restore the double digit lead at 60-49.

The Panthers finished the game down the stretch once again with a 67-55 win.

DOUGLAS TOURNAMENT

Heading back out on the road before the winter break the Panthers will make the trip down to Douglas to take part in the Douglas Classic.

Powell will take on the host Bearcats (2-1) first at noon, before taking on Burns (2-2) at 3 p.m. on Friday.

The Panthers then have a state title game rematch on Saturday at noon against Wheatland (3-1).

“The most important lesson we learned this weekend was how to play to our strengths and what we need to improve upon moving into this next weekend,” Heny said. “We need to take all of those situations and learn how to play more consistently for an entire 32 minutes.”

POWELL 60, PINEDALE 54

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Nathan Preator 12, Keona Wisniewski 12, Alex Jordan 10, Jaxon Hancock 9, Dawson Griffin 9, Taeson Schultz 5, Evan Whitlock 3

Rebounds — Jaxon Hancock 15 (7), Alex Jordan 7 (6), Nathan Preator 5, Keona Wisniewski 3 (1), Dawson Griffin 3 (1), Taeson Schultz 2 (2), Evan Whitlock 1

Assists — Nathan Preator 2, Jaxon Hancock 2, Evan Whitlock 1, Dawson Griffin 1

Steals — Keona Wisniewski 3

Blocks — Nathan Preator 1, Jaxon Hancock 1, Dawson Griffin 1

POWELL 64, RAWLINS 46

Points — Keona Wisniewski 13, Taeson Schultz 12, Alex Jordan 12, Nathan Preator 9, Dawson Griffin 8, Evan Whitlock 6, Jaxon Hancock 2

Rebounds — Jaxon Hancock 10 (4), Evan Whitlock 7 (1), Alex Jordan 5 (1), Keona Wisniewski 2 (1), Dawson Griffin 2 (1), Nathan Preator 1 (1), Abel Teten 1 (1), Brady Harvey 1

Assists — Evan Whitlock 4, Keona Wisniewski 4, Jaxon Hancock 3, Nathan Preator 2, Alex Jordan 2, Dawson Griffin 2, Abel Teten 1

Steals — Abel Teten 2, Keona Wisniewski 2, Evan Whitlock 1, Alex Jordan 1

Blocks — Jaxon Hancock 2, Nathan Preator 1

POWELL 67, LANDER 55

Points — Evan Whitlock 15, Alex Jordan 15, Keona Wisniewski 9, Alex Jordan 9, Jaxon Hancock 8, Taeson Schultz 7, Nathan Preator 4

Rebounds — Alex Jordan 15 (5), Keona Wisniewski 8 (3), Jaxon Hancock 8 (5), Evan Whitlock 5 (2), Nathan Preator 3, Abel Teten 2 (1), Taeson Schultz 1

Assists — Alex Jordan 4, Jaxon Hancock 3, Dawson Griffin 3, Keona Wisniewski 2, Nathan Preator 1, Evan Whitlock 1

Steals — Dawson Griffin 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Evan Whitlock 1, Alex Jordan 1

Blocks — Jaxon Hancock 1, Alex Jordan 1