The Emery Spartan basketball team are 3-2 in their last five and were coming off a victory against San Juan when they welcomed the No. 1 team in the state, the South Sevier Rams to Castle Dale on Tuesday night. Though Emery would keep it close early, the Rams would use a 24 point third quarter to distance themselves and steal the victory 66-52.

Both teams played close to even in the first quarter with South Sevier taking a six point lead, they would maintain that margin going into the locker room at halftime. In the third quarter the Rams would outscore the Spartans 24-8 and would take a comfortable 22 point lead into the fourth. The Spartans came back in the final eight minutes scoring 19 points but the Rams held on for the win.

The Rams are sitting at 17-0 and hold the No. 1 RPI rank in the Utah High School Activities Association for 3A schools. Kenzie Jones would lead all scorers with 32 points in the contest. Brookell Brindley and Paisley Chappell both scored nine and Leah Torgersen added eight in the victory.

For the Spartans Hailey Allred had a team high 18 points to go with her three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Tambrie Tuttle scored 17, with six rebounds and two assists. Kiri Cook and Baylee Jacobsen had five points each with Cook grabbing eight rebounds and Jacobsen collecting four rebounds, five assists and four steals in the loss.

Emery is sitting at 9-7 this season with a 2-3 region record. They sit in sixth place in the RPI. And their schedule doesn’t get any easier for them, four of the top ten teams in the state reside in Region 12. In the next two weeks they will face the number 4, 10, 5 and 1 teams, with three out of the four games coming on the road.

It all begins tomorrow night in Richfield as they face the Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 7:00.

The Spartans will be home again on January 28 as they welcome San Juan to the Spartan Center.

Check back with Castle Country Radio for the latest updates on Emery High School Athletics.