| Kyler Edgehouse among the defenders in an earlier game. |
The Emery High boy’s basketball team went north looking for wins as they tried to stay in the region race for first place. They got the win they needed at Granite but could not bring home a victory in a game played at Juan Diego.
On Wednesday night, Emery looked to avenge an earlier region loss at the hands of the Soaring Eagles of Juan Diego but tonight was not to be the night. They lost the close contest in the final seconds 46-43.
On Friday, the Spartans played one of their better games of the season as they beat the Granite Farmers for the last time 74-41. Granite ceases to be a traditional high school after this school year.
Against Juan Diego, Emery did not play well. They had 28 turnovers and faced foul trouble early in the contest. Dave Justice fouled out in third quarter and Darrin Winn and Vic Rosen followed him to the bench soon after.
In picking up their third region loss of the season, the Emery Spartans again failed to beat a team they could and probably should beat. In all three losses, Emery did not play as well as they could have but each time they are in the game until the end and each time they come home with a close loss.
Despite not having played well, despite the fouls and despite the turnovers, Emery had the opportunity to take the lead with only seconds left in the contest. With a 1-point lead and the ball, Emery turned the ball over twice and each time Juan Diego got a score out of it. A last second 3-point shot by Kyler Edgehouse went in and then popped back out to end the game.
The score was tied at 9-9 after the first period, 17-17 at the half and Juan Diego took a 32-27 lead in the third quarter.
Rosen led Emery scorers with 12 points followed by Winn with 11 points. Dempsey Jeffs had 9 points, Edgehouse finished with 5 points and Justice and Josh Eden finished with 3 points each.
Emery found themselves behind early in the contest as Granite won the first period 15-13. Emery started getting their act together in the second quarter. Behind Winn’s 8 points, Emery won the period 19-11 to take a 32-26 halftime lead.
The third quarter was all Emery as Justice scored 12 points and Winn added another 10 points. Emery won the quarter 29-9.
The Spartans then finished off the Farmers in the fourth quarter. They outscored their opponent 13-6.
Scoring in the game: Winn with 23 points, Justice with 19 points, and Rosen with 11 points. Also scoring were Eden and Jeffs with 8 points each, Edgehouse with 4 points and Carson Jensen with a single point.
Emery now finishes out region play by hosting Delta this Wednesday and traveling to Carbon this Friday. While they cannot take first or second, the Spartans want to go to the playoffs on a winning note.They must win one of these games to avoid being overtaken by Delta.
They will travel to a playoff game the following week. Delta plays Granite in their final region game.