North Sanpete senior Landon Bowles connected on a driving layup as time expired in regulation to sink the Emery Spartans 45-44 in a thrilling non-region tilt Friday night at the Spartan Center in Castle Dale.

Holding a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter, the Spartans were unable to hold off a furious comeback by the Hawks. Three crucial misses from the foul line late in the game opened the door for North Sanpete to complete the comeback.

“Credit to Sanpete because they did a great job of putting pressure on our guards and making some tough shots,” said head coach Dave Justice. “We missed a few free throws and had some untimely turnovers. Then, there at the end Bowles did a great job of getting to the rim and making a play.”

Up 44-42 with 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Spartans put North Sanpete at the charity stripe. After making the first, the potential game tying free throw missed off the side of the rim. The Hawks corralled the rebound and called timeout, setting up Bowles’ game winning layup.

Defensively the Spartans soared throughout the first three quarters, holding North Sanpete to just 25 points heading into the fourth. The Hawks nearly eclipsed that total in the final eight minutes as they scored 20 to move to 9-1 on the season.

Emery sophomore Luke Justice led the way offensively as he finished with a team-high 13 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Senior Kysen Curtis scored 12 points on an efficient 5-6 shooting performance from the field.

“Our defense was really good tonight, and we got out on the shooters early,” said Justice. “We knew they were going to come out and try to put some pressure on us. They are a great team and sometimes at the end the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.”

Friday’s loss lowers Emery’s overall record to 2-5 as the team heads into the Christmas break. During the first seven games of the season the Spartans have played one of the most challenging schedules in 3A, defeating Juab and American Leadership Academy.

The Spartans will be take the next week off before returning to the court on Tuesday, Dec. 28 at the Steve Hodson Classic in Cedar City. Playing three games in three days Emery will meet Millard, Parowan and South Sevier.