The Powell High School boys’ basketball team went down to the wire against the defending 2A champions on their home court at the Big Horn Basin Classic. The Panthers defeated Greybull 54-45 and Burlington 72-59 before losing their first game of the season to Thermopolis on Saturday 55-52. Powell then rebounded with a 63-40 win against Rocky Mountain.

POWELL 54, GREYBULL 45

The Panthers (10-1) started the weekend against the Buffs (6-8) in a game that tested the patience of the Panthers against the opposition zone.

Powell led 7-4 midway through the first quarter, and ended up trailing heading into the second after a 7-2 Greybull run.

That lead stretched out to 15-11, before strong Panther shooting allowed them to regain the lead and push it to 26-21 heading into halftime.

“We were just trying to be a little more patient in getting the shots we wanted against their zone. At times the offense wasn’t moving the ball enough to force the zone to guard both sides of the floor and we weren’t attacking inside out very well,” coach Mike Heny said. “We are going to need to continue to work on our execution going forward in order to improve our efficiency on the offensive end.”

Powell attempted to pull away early in the third, as a Landon Hyde layup made it 33-23 just 2:30 into the third quarter.

Greybull responded with a 5-0 run, but Powell held off that charge and made it 38-29 heading into the fourth quarter.

Early on Powell pushed its lead back to double figures, leading 47-33 after an Abel Teten layup just over two minutes into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers were unable to pull away, as the Buffs chipped away over the next three minutes and made it a 49-43 contest late.

Powell ended up making enough free throws down the stretch to pull away for a 54-45 win.

Nathan Preator led with 15 points while Kason Sherman added 10.

Preator tied for the team lead in rebounds at seven alongside Caden Nelson.

Preator and Taeson Schultz had five assists each, Preator led with six steals while Schultz had three of the eight blocks for the Panthers.

POWELL 72, BURLINGTON 59

In the second game of the weekend the Panthers took on the Huskies (8-6 overall, 1-1 1A Northwest).

Powell got off to a faster start, using speed to its advantage as Nelson’s steal and layup made it 12-2 midway through the first quarter.

The Panthers kept up the pace and led 23-8 after the first despite a Burlington buzzer beater.

Nelson’s putback layup made it 31-10 with 5:30 remaining, and a Schultz 3-pointer made it 34-12 with 4:50 left and forced a Burlington timeout.

Preator’s and-one made it 44-14 late and the Panthers led 48-20 at the break.

Schultz’s layup immediately pushed it to 30 in the third, but the Huskies didn’t go quietly as they went on a 7-2 stretch to force a Powell timeout.

That scoring outburst continued, cutting it to 54-35 with three minutes left in the third.

Powell kept that distance, leading 61-42 heading into the fourth.

Burlington continued making a run of it, but was unable to cut it to single digits as Powell finished with the 72-59 win.

“We played so well in the first half that it’s a natural tendency for kids to let up a bit when everything went so well and we had such a big lead,” Heny said. “Burlington used the opportunity to just play loose and they came out and played with more intensity than we did in the second half. It is a good learning experience for the players to maintain their effort and execution for four quarters even though you have built a big lead by halftime.”

Schultz led with 19 points, Preator had 18 while Nelson and Hyde had 12 each.

Nelson added 11 rebounds for a double-double, Preator led with five assists, Nelson had five steals and Hyde had two blocks.

THERMOPOLIS 55, POWELL 52

Heading into Saturday the Panthers took on the defending 2A champion Bobcats (9-3) early in the morning.

The two teams went back and forth early, as Powell led 7-4 midway through the first quarter.

Powell pushed its lead to as many as 12-6 and led 15-10 heading into the second quarter.

Thermopolis quickly tied the contest in the second at 15, but Powell responded and regained the lead, taking a 21-19 advantage into the locker room.

The Bobcats took the lead midway through the third 29-28, as turnovers started giving the hosts a boost as they quickly pushed that lead to 33-28.

Powell responded, but Thermopolis held a 35-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Scoring picked up, but every time the Panthers cut into the lead the Bobcats had a response.

The Panthers trailed 51-49 with two minutes left after three free throws by Preator.

Powell kept it within two, and had a chance to tie late down 53-51 on a pair of Hyde free throws with five seconds left.

“I was extremely proud of how the kids played against a really good team on their home court … Other than some sloppy and ill-timed turnovers, the kids battled and competed for four quarters,” Heny said. “Even though we weren’t all that sharp on offense, we kept it close by playing solid defense and had a clean look at a three to take the lead with 10 seconds, and several shots at the rim to tie it as well as two free throws to try to get it to overtime.”

Hyde went 1-2 at the line, and Powell fouled as Thermopolis went 2-2 to make it 55-52.

Preator’s last second heave was off line and the Panthers fell for the first time 55-52.

“I’m happy with how we competed and played, but the kids try to win every game and I coach for the same result,” Heny said. “If we had executed better, I felt like we would have won the game. However, we played the defending 2A champs on their floor and took them to the final possession. We look at every game individually and try to learn how to execute better the next game, win or lose.”

Preator led with 23 points, Hyde added 10.

Hyde led with seven rebounds, six assists and the lone block for Powell. Preator and Nelson had two steals each.

POWELL 63, ROCKY MOUNTAIN 40

In the second game on Saturday the Panthers took on the Grizz (6-8) for the second time in as many weeks.

Powell led 11-8 midway through the first after a Preator 3-pointer, and pushed the lead slightly further to 18-13 at the end of the quarter.

The Panthers extended their lead in the second, up 24-15 midway through the frame.

Powell had the lead to as many as 11, but led 28-21 heading into the halftime break.

Under a minute into the third the Panthers made it 33-21 on a Preator 3-pointer, and established a double-digit advantage.

The lead fluctuated but stayed in double figures as Powell led 48-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

Powell made it 20 a minute into the fourth and didn’t look back en route to a 63-40 victory.

“We just wanted to come out and play hard with everything we had left in the tank,” Heny said. “Our shooting really was the difference from the first matchup as we were able to knock down a lot more outside shots against their zone.”

Preator had 14 points just ahead of Hyde with 13 and Teten with 11.

Harvey had seven rebounds, Sherman had five assists, Nelson had seven steals and Harvey had the lone block.

CONFERENCE STARTS

Powell now heads back on the road, starting 3A West Conference play on Thursday and Friday.

The Panthers start with a rivalry game against Cody (3-9 overall, 0-1 3A West) on Thursday at 7 p.m. before heading to Worland (5-6) for another 7 p.m. tip on Friday.

“Cody and Worland will both be challenging road games to start our conference season,” Heny said. “We will need to handle pressure in both games and limit both team’s inside scoring. Limiting our turnovers and making both teams make tough shots will be the key if we want to give ourselves the best chance to win.”

POWELL 54, GREYBULL 45

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Nathan Preator 15, Kason Sherman 10, Taeson Schultz 8, Landon Hyde 8, Caden Nelson 7, Abel Teten 5, Brady Harvey 1

Rebounds — Nathan Preator 7 (1), Caden Nelson 7 (4), Taeson Schultz 6 (1), Landon Hyde 6 (2), Abel Teten 4 (2), Kason Sherman 4 (2), Brady Harvey 1

Assists — Nathan Preator 5, Taeson Schultz 5, Landon Hyde 3, Abel Teten 2, Caden Nelson 1, Kason Sherman 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 6, Taeson Schultz 4, Landon Hyde 4, Caden Nelson 3, Kason Sherman 1

Blocks — Taeson Schultz 3, Landon Hyde 2, Nathan Preator 1, Brady Harvey 1, Abel Teten 1

POWELL 72, BURLINGTON 59

Points — Taeson Schultz 19, Nathan Preator 18, Caden Nelson 12, Landon Hyde 12, Abel Teten 9, Brady Harvey 2

Rebounds — Caden Nelson 11 (1), Brady Harvey 6 (4), Nathan Preator 4 (3), Landon Hyde 2 (1), Abel Teten 1 (1), Eli Dallman 1

Assists — Nathan Preator 5, Taeson Schultz 4, Brady Harvey 4, Caden Nelson 3, Landon Hyde 2, Abel Teten 1, Eli Dallman 1

Steals — Caden Nelson 5, Nathan Preator 4, Landon Hyde 3, Taeson Schultz 2, Abel Teten 2

Blocks — Landon Hyde 2, Nathan Preator 1, Caden Nelson 1, Taeson Schultz 1, Brady Harvey 1

THERMOPOLIS 55, POWELL 52

Points — Nathan Preator 23, Landon Hyde 10, Caden Nelson 6, Kason Sherman 6, Taeson Schultz 5, Abel Teten 2

Rebounds — Landon Hyde 7 (3), Taeson Schultz 5, Caden Nelson 4 (1), Nathan Preator 3 (1), Kason Sherman 3, Brady Harvey 2, Abel Teten 2 (1)

Assists — Landon Hyde 6, Nathan Preator 3, Taeson Schultz 3, Kason Sherman 2, Brady Harvey 1, Abel Teten 1

Steals — Nathan Preator 2, Caden Nelson 2, Taeson Schultz 1, Landon Hyde 1, Brady Harvey 1, Abel Teten 1.

Blocks — Landon Hyde 1

POWELL 63, ROCKY MOUNTAIN 40

Points — Nathan Preator 14, Landon Hyde 13, Abel Teten 11, Kason Sherman 9, Taeson Schultz 6, Caden Nelson 4, Eli Dallman 4, Cody Fisher 2

Rebounds — Brady Harvey 7 (3), Nathan Preator 6 (3), Kason Sherman 6 (1), Landon Hyde 5 (1), Caden Nelson 2, Taeson Schultz 2, Abel Teten 1, Eli Dallman 1 (1)

Assists — Kason Sherman 5, Caden Nelson 4, Nathan Preator 3, Abel Teten 3, Taeson Schultz 1, Landon Hyde 1

Steals — Caden Nelson 7, Nathan Preator 1, Brady Harvey 1, Abel Teten 1, Eli Dallman 1

Blocks — Brady Harvey 1