Emery Spartans fall by 2 to Beaver: win Manti by 2

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports Writer

Last Tuesday night, the Emery High Spartans boy’s basketball team played Beaver High School in Castle Dale and lost a close game at the buzzer 45-43.
The Spartans were looking for their second victory of the year with the Beavers in town but were narrowly denied the win. After falling behind early, Emery fought all game long to narrow the gap and finally did so with two minutes and 15 seconds left in the game.
At the 2:15 mark Brendon Jorgensen scored giving Emery their first lead of the game. With the basket, Emery led 42-41. Emery then extended the lead to 43-41 with a Bailey Faimalo free throw only to see the Beavers score the final four points of the contest to grab the win.
With the game tied at 43-43, Beaver had the ball and got a shot with about seven seconds left in the game. The shot missed, Beaver got the rebound, which quickly went back up, Beaver missed again and the Beavers got another offensive rebound and this time the wild shot fell through just as the buzzer sounded and Emery suffered another loss.
Emery fell behind 4-0 to start the game and eventually trailed 16-6 after the first quarter. Emery was outscored 7-6 in the second period and trailed by 11 points at the half. Emery narrowed the differential to 10 points by winning the third quarter 13-12.
Emery opened the final period on a 7-0 run to narrow the Beaver lead to three points. Beaver held off the Spartans during the next three minutes until Emery finally took the lead with Jorgensen’s three-pointer.
Emery had opportunity in the game to have a bigger lead. Emery shot 59 percent from the free throw line in the game as they went 16 for 27. The Spartans were seven for nine in the final quarter from the free throw line. In the first three periods the Spartans were nine for 18 including a pair of missed free throws to start the second half after Beaver got a technical foul during warm-ups.
Dallon Cologie scored 11 points to lead the Spartans in this game and also dished out three assists. Jorgensen finished the game with nine points while pulling down two rebounds. Faimalo scored eight points, dished out three assists and pulled down two rebounds.
Jordan Cox scored five points while leading the team with eight rebounds. Dawson Jensen scored five points and had six rebounds. Logan Tuttle had five rebounds and scored two points. Curtis Mason hit a 3-pointer for his only points in the game.
After starting the basketball season 4-0, the Manti Templars boy’s basketball team had lost three games in a row and was looking to change their luck when they faced the Emery Spartans in Castle Dale just before the New Year started. Emery, on the other hand, had only two wins in the young season but had played several other games close and the Spartans were looking to add their third victory of the season. Emery prevailed at the end though as the Spartans sent the Templars home with a two-point loss 54-52.
Emery started off slow in the game, going down 5-0 to start. The Spartans fought back to tie the score at 5-5 only to then allow the Templars to score the next eight points to lead 13-5. Baskets by Jordan Cox and David Dyer at the end of the first period allowed Emery to trail only 13-9 after the first period.
Manti scored the first four points of the second quarter before Emery’s Brendon Jorgensen nailed a shot with two minutes gone in the period. Emery narrowed the deficit to two points twice in the period. Logan Tuttle hit a shot to narrow the score to 21-19 with 2:10 left and then Tuttle went one for two at the free throw line to cut the score to 25-23. Emery missed a pair of free throws with a second left on the clock that could have tied the score at the half.
Manti scored the first nine points of the second half as Emery missed everything they shot until Dallon Cologie went one for two at the line. With that free throw, Emery started a 10-0 run to narrow the gap to 34-33 with less than a minute left in the quarter. After Cologie’s free throw, Dawson Jensen hit a basket, Cologie hit a three-pointer, Cox went one for two at the line and Jorgensen then hit a three-pointer to narrow the gap. Manti hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to lead 37-33 after three quarters.
Emery tied the score in the fourth quarter at the 6:14 mark when Emery hit four straight free throws. Tuttle was fouled putting up a shot and after the call; the Manti coach was called for a technical foul after being way out on the floor. Tuttle hit both of his free throws and then Jorgensen stepped up and hit another pair and Emery and Manti were tied at 42-42.
With Emery having possession after the technical, the Spartans turned the ball over and Manti quickly scored at the other end to regain the lead. Manti then hit a three and the Templars were up 47-42 just like that and it appeared that the Spartan’s luck had run out.
Baskets by Tuttle and Bailey Faimalo narrowed the score to 48-47 and Cox then scored to give Emery their first lead of the game with 2:50 left in regulation. Manti scored the next four points to lead 52-49. With 43 seconds remaining in the game, Cologie went to the free throw line and made one of two shots to narrow the deficit to two points. When Emery got the ball back after a missed shot, Brendon Jorgensen capped of his 13-point night by hitting a three pointer to give Emery the lead at 53-52.
Jordan Cox took a hard offensive foul at the other end, it left him coming out of the game with blood flowing from his nose, to stop a Manti basket and then Jorgensen hit a free throw to get to the final score of 54-52.
Emery went 14 for 29 in the final three quarters of the game from the free throw line after starting the game going four for four in the first quarter.
Dallon Cologie led the way with 15 points followed by Jorgensen. Tuttle finished with 10 points, Cox scored 5 points, Faimalo and Mason each hit a three, Jensen and Dyer scored two each and Corbin Barnett added a free throw.
Emery now travels to Union this Wednesday night and then will travel to South Sevier to play one of the premier teams in 2-A basketball and the reigning 2-A state champion. Emery will host Carbon on Saturday night.