Emery drops two at home, wins on road

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Emery High boys basketball team defeated Canyon View at Canyon View on Dec. 18 by a score of 68-51 after having lost a heartbreaker at home to ranked Hurricane 51-49 earlier in the week.
In a game that had all the makings of a game at the state tournament, Hurricane and Emery battled each other for the entire ball game before a last second free throw by Hurricane decided this contest. The first quarter had both teams playing cautiously as they scoped out their opponent making sure that they limited their own mistakes. Emery led 10-9 after the period.
A good second quarter by both teams saw 34 points put on the scoreboard and the Tigers grabbed a 28-25 half time lead.
The third quarter was absolutely an offensive disaster for Emery as nothing wanted to fall in the basket. Emery managed only two points in the whole quarter on a pair of free throws by Colton Barnett. Emery was only down 34-27 after the third quarter because the Tigers only managed to score six points in the period as Emery played good defense in the quarter.
With 4:30 left in the game, Emery was still down as they had only managed four points so far in the quarter. Emery then scored 18 points to pull themselves back into the game and actually make a game of it.
With 1:15 left in the game, Emery trailed 46-44 but had the ball out of bounds. Emery ran 12 seconds off the clock before Derek Tuttle hit a 3-pointer to put Emery in the lead at 47-46. This was Emery’s first lead since early in the second quarter.
Hurricane’s Zac Sorenson hit a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to give the Tigers back the lead at 49-47. After a made free throw by Hurricane, Emery got to within one point at 50-49 on a floater by Nevin Jensen with 22 seconds left in the game. After another made free throw, Hurricane led by two in the closing seconds. Emery got the ball down court and Tuttle missed a shot but Emery rebounded. Nevin Jensen then had a good look but also missed the shot and Emery rebounded again but was not able to get off a third shot and Emery lost a heartbreaker. It is a sign of a good team when they can have an off quarter but still fight for the win.
Jensen led the team with 14 points while Tanner Procarione scored 12 points. Tuttle finished with eight points, Ty Benson and Barnett finished with six points with Mark Guymon adding a 3-pointer. Guymon, Procarione and Barnett all finished with at least six rebounds apiece.
At Canyon View, Emery won every period but the second in getting the 17 point win. Jensen led the team with 14 points and Procarione had 13 points. Nevin and Tanner are sixth and seventh in 3-A basketball in scoring. Nevin averages 16.43 points per game while Tanner averages 16.
Guymon and Tuttle each scored nine points; Barnett added seven points and Jake Fortner scored five points. TJ Furner scored four points and Benson, Quinn Montgomery and Kashe Potter all scored two points each. Gage Bell scored a single point in the win.
Emery is the leading scoring team in 3-A basketball averaging 67.71 points per game. Emery also has the second largest point differential in 3-A basketball at 13.86 through the first seven games.
Wasatch High came to town on Dec. 22 ranked number one by both of the Salt Lake City daily newspapers. These Wasps can shoot, they are quick and they take advantage of any opening that their opponents may give them.
This was supposed to be a classic battle between two ranked teams, Wasatch at number one and Emery at number three, but Wasatch came to town to prove a point as to whom the best team is and they left satisfied with a 68-48 victory.
In the first quarter, with 4:31 left in the period, the score was only 6-5 in favor of Wasatch. Over the next 1:44, Wasatch outscored Emery 8-1 and the control of the ball game was theirs. The Wasps led 21-12 after the first quarter.
Emery made their last run at Wasatch early in the second quarter. Emery cut into the Wasatch lead and trailed by five at 23-18 as they played well early on in the quarter. But just like that, Wasatch reclaimed control of the action and the ball game, as they owned the next three minutes. They outscored Emery 15-2 and took a 38-20 lead and never were threatened again by the Spartans. Wasatch led 42-26 at the half.
Although Emery had a size advantage, Wasatch’s advantage came with their quickness and the fact that every man on the floor was capable of handling the ball and scoring. While Emery had the leading scorer on the floor in Colton Barnett with 22 points, only one other Emery player finished the night in double figures. Wasatch had four players finish with double figures in the game.
Emery outscored Wasatch in the third quarter 13-11 but lost each of the other three periods. Wasatch is now 9-1 this season with only a close loss to 4As Springville blemishing their record. Emery had two prior losses, both coming in the final seconds of the game and now a 5-3 record this season. These two teams will probably meet again.
Barnett led the way for Emery with 22 points on six of six free throws and eight field goals. Colton also had 13 rebounds in the game, a steal and a couple of blocked shots. Tanner Procarione was the only other Spartan in double figures. Tanner scored 11 points in the game after hitting four field goals and going three of six at the line.
Nevin Jensen hit a pair of 3-point shots and finished the game with nine points and seven assists. These were the only three Emery players to make a field goal until the final period. In the fourth quarter, Jake Fortner had a 3-pointer and Derek Tuttle had a field goal. In the first quarter, Mark Guymon went one for two at the free throw line. For the game, Emery was 11 for 17 at the line.
Emery’s next game is another preseason contest at Roosevelt against Union High School on Jan. 5, 2010. Emery will start region play on Jan. 8 with a game at North Sanpete.