The Emery Spartans suffered their first Region 15 setback of the season in a 77-69 decision to the San Juan Broncos Wednesday night in Blanding.

Koby Butler scored 17 points despite sitting out the majority of the third quarter due to foul trouble, before fouling out in the fourth. Bowdie Jacobson helped push the Emery offense with 16 points, while Kyson Stilson scored 13 off of the bench.

Trailing 20-15 at the end of the opening quarter, the Spartans struggled to work their way out of a deficit that turned to double-digits in the fourth quarter. A late Emery run trimmed the Broncos lead to just four, but that is as close as the Spartans would get.

Dylan Ivins led a furious San Juan offensive performance with 19 points, including four makes from the three-point line. Jordan Blake finished with 17, while Jaden Torgerson and Zach Brown rounded out a balanced offensive effort with 12 points a piece.

Foul trouble plagued the Spartans throughout the game. Zac Jorgensen recorded his third personal foul in the second quarter, while both Koby and Kolton Butler fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Wednesday’s loss snaps a seven-game Emery winning streak that dates back to Jan. 7. It also prevented the Spartans from clinching the Region 15 outright, putting heavy emphasis on Friday’s regular season finale against Grand.

Still one game ahead of both Grand and San Juan for the division crown, the Spartans can still clinch the No. 1 seed with a win on Friday over Grand. A loss for Emery and a win for San Juan over Manti would result in a three-way tie, which would be decided by a coin flip.

Live coverage of Friday’s road contest against Grand is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM with the Landon’s Diesel Service Pre-Game Show. Tip-off will follow shortly after at 7:00 PM.