After having secured a play-off spot with last week’s Carbon victory, the Emery Spartans went on the road to Mt. Pleasant and Delta to finish the region season and to try and secure a first round home game with two victories. They were successful as they dominated North Sanpete 92-75 and survived at Delta 60-49.
Against the Hawks, the Spartans used balanced scoring and fantastic defense to thoroughly frustrate the home team. After fighting to a 15-15 first quarter score and three fouls each on Chandler Pearson and Matt Stucki, the Spartans dominated the secnd quarter with 24 points and a defense that stifled North Sanpete. Zeke Atwood picked up his third foul in the quarter to keep the Emery fan optimism in check. Pearson led the way with 14 points and Bowie Jeffs added 11 points. Atwood and Keaton Cowley kicked in six points each.
The Spartan roll continued in the second half as they frustrated the Hawks. Jeffs added 21 second half points to lead the way. Pearson finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Atwood finished with 10 points and four blocks and Cowley added 14 points. Also scoring were Matt Stucki with four points, Isaac Bawden with two points and Mike Blomquist with six points. Davey Justice also scored four points.
The Hawks were observed fighting amongst themselves in the second half as they each tried to be the shooter in the game. Their coaching staff added fuel to the fire by yelling at Emery fans.
On Friday night against Delta, the Spartans were not quite as efficient but never the less scored a victory in one of the hardest gyms that the Spartans have to play in. Coach Jeffs after the game said, “This was ugly basketball but it was a win. This is a difficult place for us to play. No matter which team we bring, the games here are always close. It’s a win.”
Pearson led the way in the first quarter with a pair of 3-pointers as the Spartans led 11-9 after one period. In the second quarter, the Spartans romped to a 26-12 lead but gave up the last seven points of the quarter as the turnover bug bit Emery hard.
Delta outscored Emery in the third period 13-9 as the once 14-point lead was now three. Pearson had seven points to again lead the way.
The fourth quarter saw the Spartans cling to a 1-point lead through the first four minutes but then they opened it back up so that the Emery fans could breathe a little more easily. The Spartans were 13 for 14 from the free throw line in the quarter while the Rabbits struggled to a 3 for 10 finish after going 11 for 14. Pearson finished with 26 points to lead the team but came home with a sore knee. He’s optimistic that everything is ok. Jeffs had 13 fourth quarter points to finish with 22. Bawden had five points and Blomquist hit a big three down the stretch for his only points.
Emery will host Grantsville on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the first round of play-offs. The scheduled game with Ben Lomond on Tuesday night has apparently been moved to Wednesday. The Emery girls also have a home game that night with Wasatch; game times have not been set. Ben Lomond finished in a tie with Tooele for 4th in their region and is to have a play-in game that same night. Call the school for game times.