Grizz give Powell a tussle before falling

Talk about a tough opening weekend. The Rocky Mountain Grizzlies opened the new year with road games against ranked Class 3A opponents, meeting the third-ranked Powell Panthers in Powell Thursday night before traveling to top-ranked Lovell Friday (see related story).

Thursday in Powell, the Grizz gave the Panthers a battle before falling 50-30.

“We knew it would be tough sledding for us coming out of the break,” coach Pat Winland said. “All I told the kids is, if we’re going to get beat, make them earn it. I was pleased with how we competed. Being within eight points in the third quarter is something we can build on.”

Powell led from the get-go, but a move and jumper by senior guard Bryce Haslem and an inside bucket by Alex Hedges on a pass from Lafe Files kept the Grizzlies close, trailing 6-4. After Powell went up 10-4, Haslem drained a three-pointer to cut the lead in half before Powell took a 14-7 lead after the first quarter.

Powell outscored Rocky 12-6 in the second quarter to lead 26-13 at halftime and held the 13-point lead after the third quarter, 34-21.

And then the Grizz rallied. A flying follow shot by Tucker Jackson, a Hedges free throw and a pretty around-the-back move and jumper by Haslem cut the Powell lead to eight, 34-26, and after Powell went up 38-26, two free throws by Cole Minchow trimmed the lead to 10, 38-28. But Powell reasserted control of the game and outscored the Grizz 12-2 down the stretch to win 50-30.

“I slapped a full-court press on them, and it backfired,” Winland said. “I was thinking now or never to get a turnover, and they handled our pressure pretty easily.”

In the end, the difference in the game was scoring power, something the Grizz lacked.

“Single-digit quarters, as always, is going to be something that hurts us, and we had eight of them on the weekend,” Winland noted. “Having just four players in the book doesn’t help. We got beat in just about every statistical category, from transition points to points in the paint.

“I told the kids this type of pressure is something we don’t see at the 2A level very often. My hope is that it prepares us for the regional tournament.”

Haslem led the Grizz with 13 points, and Minchow added 8, Hedges 5 and Jackson 4. Jackson and Hedges pulled down eight rebounds each, and Hedges led the squad with five steals, Minchow with three assists.