Saginaw - Those boys have some heart and I mean heart.  The host Nouvel Panthers welcomed Powers into town tonight.  The Chargers came with Arizona bound Laval Lucas-Perry and a starting line-up that most coaches would give just about anything for.  Powers came in with one of the best teams in Class B, facing off against one of the best teams in C.  The difference between Class A and Class B teams is much less of a drop-off in terms of talent vs. the matchups between most B and C teams.  That was just a few of the strikes that were beset upon Nouvel before the opening tip.  After the first half, the hype couldn't have been more telling, however it was the 2nd half that told the rest of the story and proved that while it may not overcome all, heart still plays an important factor in all high school athletics.

Out of the gate it was all Powers.  After just a few minutes and four different Chargers entering the box score, Powers was up 10-2.  Nouvel started to battle back, getting to within 3 at 13-10 on a Nick White triple.  Tyler Moreland and Tim Ryan took their respective teams on their shoulders in the waning moments of the opening quarter.  Moreland scored the last 5 for the Chargers, 7 in all, while Ryan scored the final four for his squad, 6 in all in the quarter.

The 2nd quarter got got going with LLP putting his team up 8 at 23-15 on a basket to open the quarter.  Ryan cut the lead back to 6 but that would be the last Panther points for some time in an explosive 2nd quarter for the Chargers.  Powers went on a 13-zip run to push the lead to 19.  LLP had 7 points during the stretch.  Lucas-Perry struck again just a minute later with a three pointer, pushing the lead to 41-21.  Tim Ryan scored Nouvel's next 8 points but the effort was only treading water as the Chargers still were in front 50-30.  Mitch Mulcahy had cut the lead to 18 in the waning moments but then came a dagger sent in by Spencer Hickoff.  With time ticking off of the clock, Hickoff released the ball from just inside half-court.  The long range bomb struck gold and put Powers back out in front by 21 at the half.  Hickoff had gotten rid of the ball just before the buzzer had sounded.  At this point in the game it looked as if the Panthers were in for an uphill battle just to keep it respectable.

In the third quarter the Panthers turned the tables and turned it into a ball game as the 21 point lead began to whittle down little by little.  Ryan and Tyler Moreland exchanged bucket to open the half but it was what game next that woke everyone up.  Ryan took hold of a Powers turnover, raced to the basket and threw down a jam that gave the Panthers just enough excitement and a second wind to get back into this thing.    The jam was the beginning to a 13-2 run that brought the Panthers to within 6.  During the run, Ryan had 8 but it was also Mulcahy that was getting it done from outside with two three pointers during that same streak.  The Chargers launched a counter-attack behind 5 straight points from Andrew Charlesworth and a bucket from Tyler Moreland that put Powers right back up by 11.  The Panthers came back with four of their own and after a Shane Moreland bucket to end the quarter, the lead was still 9 points in favor of the visitors from Flint, 66-57.

Lucas-Perry opened the game's final quarter with a bucket that stretched the lead to 11.  Not going anywhere, the Panthers dealt their blows capped by another Mulcahy three ball, cutting the lead to 6.  Then came what perhaps the play of the game.  With the lead down to 6, momentum falling by the wayside and the home team crowd going nuts, Tyler Moreland pulled up behind the arc and calmly nailed a three to give his squad a 9 point advantage and sent a hush over crowd.  It was a little to late in the game for the Panthers to be trading baskets.  Down by 11 again, Mulcahy put home another five points, including his fourth and final three pointer, cutting the lead down to 6.  With less than two minutes to go and Powers doing a great job of milking the clock, time ran out on the Panthers.  Tim Ryan put up a three point play with 4 seconds to go but the basket and ensuing free throw put them to only within 4 at 86-82.  When Powers in-bounded the ball, time had expired and the exciting finish ended with the Chargers hanging on and fighting off a furious comeback by Nouvel.  As the players exited the gym, fans came up to Ryan and told him how good he played and that time just ran out.  Ryan just shook his head and replied, that three before the buzzer in the first half, that was just the kind of night it was going to be.  He was right.  On the flipside, the Chargers played far from their perfect game.  I think if both of these teams played 10 times, we would see a result like this for a majority of those games.  The Panthers, although a terrific team and work harder than just about any other team that I have seen this year, were out gunned from the start by one of the most talented stating fives in Class B. 

Both teams have a lot to gain from this match-up.  Powers gets the experience they needed in a close win over a tough team, while Nouvel stayed with a bigger school blow for blow which will only help them as they take on the field in the tournament, early next month.  Tim Ryan led all scorers with 31, Lucas-Perry had 24, the Morelands combined for 39 and Andrew Charlesworth had 14.  Nouvel also got a monster game from Mitch Mulcahy's 28 points and three triples.  Powers heads down south to face Dakota on Saturday while U.S.A. is up for Nouvel on Thursday.