Emery basketball teams win region championships

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports writer

The Emery High boy’s basketball team almost finished the season with a perfect region record but a very determined Delta team upset the Spartans at Delta 58-57 on Friday to give Emery one region loss this season.
Last week, Emery probably had the best single quarter ever in the game against Manti followed by a quarter in the Delta game that was probably their poorest of the season.
In the first quarter of the Manti game, a game that Emery won 88-50, Emery scored on their first seven possessions and then all but two possessions of the quarter as they won the period 33-5. Nevin Jensen led the team with 13 points as he went five for five in the quarter including three for three behind the three-point line. Derek Tuttle scored seven points, Colton Barnett scored seven points and Mark Guymon hit a 3-point shot as everything Emery did offensively worked. Emery also played good defense in holding the Templars to only five points.
Against Delta, Emery was outscored in the second quarter 19-5 to put themselves in a big hole in the game. Emery couldn’t score and the Spartans had way too many turnovers in the period while everything seemed to go right for the Rabbits. Coach Todd Jeffs of that quarter, “We did not play well in the first half and had far too many turnovers in the second quarter. Delta played really well and everything seemed to go right for them.” Coach Jeffs then added, “We played phenomenal in the second half though. The guys battled back after being down as they did what they needed to do. We almost had it.”
After being down by 20 points midway through the third quarter, Emery went on a tear and actually grabbed the lead at 57-56. Delta scored with six seconds left in the game to reclaim the lead and the game. Emery had a final shot at the buzzer but it went in, rolled around and popped back out. There was one controversial call at the end that was very late in being called that benefitted the Rabbits.
Jensen led Emery in scoring against Delta with 26 points including five 3-pointers in the second half. Barnett scored 10 points, Guymon and Tanner Procarione each scored six points, Tuttle scored five points and TJ Furner scored four points.
Jensen also led the team in scoring against Manti with 23 points, 20 of those in the first half. Barnett scored 13 points, Procarione scored 10 points as did Tuttle, Guymon and Jake Fortner each scored eight points, Kashe Potter scored six points, Furner scored three points, and Ty Benson, Gage Bell and Kash Jewkes each scored two points.
Jensen leads the team in scoring with an 18.60-ppg average. Procarione is next at 11.90 ppg and Barnett is at 9.63 ppg. Jensen leads the team with 46 three-point shots for the year.
Emery played a non-region game last night against Park City and will now open the 2010 3-A state play-offs by hosting Ben Lomond this Saturday night at the Spartan Center at 7 p.m.
Ben Lomond started this season by winning their first 10 games before going 1-5 over the next six games. The Scots finished their season by winning four of their last five with the loss being only by two points. They have a balanced scoring attack with three to four players usually ending up in double figures. The winner advances to Utah Valley University the following week for the state tournament and the loser stays home.