The Emery Spartans suffered back-to-back losses at the Central Basketball Preview Friday and Saturday at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.

The weekend’s first setback came down to the wire as Emery found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard in a 62-60 loss to the Morgan Trojans.

The two teams were evenly matched throughout the contest as neither grabbed a comfortable advantage. Tied entering the fourth quarter, Morgan squeaked out the win by outscoring Emery 22-20 in the final eight minutes.

Cade Brazier recorded the game’s lone double-double, producing 14 points and 10 rebounds for Emery in the loss. Junior Kyson Stilson also finished with 14 points, while also accumulating eight rebounds, and handing out three assists. Both Easton Gordon and Brax Jensen finished with 10 points.

Saturday the Spartans returned to the court, but suffered a similar result dropping a 72-50 decision to Dixie, last year’s third place 3A finisher.

Stilson again stuffed the state sheet finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Brazier continued his consistent offensive contribution with 10 points, while Gordon and Tyler Butler finished with eight.

Emery managed to match Dixie’s production from the field, converting 18 field goals compared to 19 from Dixie. The massive differential came at the charity stripe where Dixie finished 28-35, compared to Emery’s 6-9.

After opening the season with four straight road games Emery will play at home for the first time on Wednesday as they welcome in the Carbon Dinos. The week of action will come to a close Friday with another home tilt against Maeser Prep.