| Dempsey Jeffs shoots above the defender. |
Emery boys lose heartbreaker to Hurricane
It was oh so close but victory or even overtime was snatched away as time ran out in the Spartan Center last Thursday night as Hurricane sunk a shot just before the buzzer sounded for the go ahead points. Hurricane won the game 47-44.
In a game that was close throughout the contest, Emery tied the score at 44-44 with about 15 seconds left on a 3-point basket by Dempsey Jeffs. The game had been tied four times and had had 10 lead changes. Hurricane then pushed the ball quickly down court, took an off-balance shot that just happened to go in and just like that elation turned to disappointment.
Hurricane came into the game with a perfect 5-0 record versus the 2-3 record of the host Spartans. But Emery stayed right there with the Tigers throughout the game. Hurricane led by three at the end of the first quarter, Emery led by two at the half and Hurricane led by two at the end of three quarters.
Emery was led in the game by talented senior point guard Dempsey Jeffs. Jeffs, especially in the second half when Emery needed points, took the ball time and again to the hoop and made a shot that did not appear to be that easy to shoot. Jeffs had 7 points in the first half, 7 points in the third quarter and 9 points in the fourth quarter to keep Emery in the game.
In the first quarter, Emery had too many turnovers to end up as close as they were. Emery probably should not have been as close as they were with all the bad passes.
Emery scored the first four points of the second quarter to take the lead. An offensive rebound and put back for Kyle Johansen and an inside feed to Tyler Killpack on a fast break allowed Emery to lead the game.
In the third quarter, not much happened by either team as Emery only scored a point and the Tigers only scored 2 points in the first 5:30 of play. It really heated up the last two minutes.
In the fourth quarter, Karson Jensen got hot and scored 6 points. Karson is a leaper with a good, soft shot and Emery needs him to be active around the basket in order to be successful consistently.
Besides Jeffs and Karson points, Nevin Jensen added 5 points, Kyle Johansen added 4 points and Jordan Gee and Tyler Killpack scored 3 points each.
Emery will now travel the next two weeks and not play at home until Jan. 11 against Delta. Next week they play at Dixie on Thursday night and at Cedar on Friday night.