Wednesday night the Emery Spartans were on the road in Cedar City to face Canyon View, the No. 8 team in 3A. Behind a big third quarter, the Spartans got the victory and are now just two wins away from a Region 12 Championship.
Emery sits in sole possession of first place in Region 12 with a 5-1 mark and after tonight’s win, they hold a 14-4 mark overall.
The Spartans knew that they had to get out to a fast start against the Falcons, but they had the same idea. This game was truly a battle from beginning to end with neither team wanting to give up.
The first quarter was played almost to a draw with both teams answering each other nearly point for point and Emery holding a one-point advantage at the end 18-17. The Falcons would come back in quarter two, putting up 16 and taking a 33-29 advantage at halftime.
In the third quarter, Emery came out firing, putting 21 points on the board, while holding Canyon View to 13 and putting some distance between them. Going into the final eight minutes the Spartans had secured a four-point lead, but no lead was safe in this game as it really went down to the wire, but Emery held on taking the big win 68-60.
Coach Dave Justice spoke with KOAL’s Jordan Buscarini after the game and was asked at what point he felt like they had the game in hand.
“It was kind of a topsy-turvy first half, and then in the second half they come out and hit a run, and we just kept answering . And then obviously to make that 7-0 run, you feel good and then they answer back, but then credit to our guys for stepping up and making free throws. I think Talon had four, Zack made two, you know it’s just an outstanding job.” He went on to wrap up by saying, “You never feel comfortable without any lead, to be honest, if it’s even six points with like fifteen seconds, your thinking, oh three, and maybe that missed free throw, I’m just excited for the kids you know, they did a great job.”
Wade Stilson earned player of the game honors with 17 points leading Emery in the second half. Buscarini asked him about Emery’s mindset going into that.
“Well, we just didn’t want to start out slow, so we had to get something big and that’s what we did.”
Along with Stilson’s 17, Brett Rasmussen and Luke Justice, both added 14. Talon Tuttle put up nine in the win, that now has Emery in first place in Region 12 with two games left.
The Spartans will be back on the court Friday night at the Spartan Center when they host Grand. Just last week Emery traveled to Moab and returned home with a 104-66 win.
Game time is set for 7, and you can tune in to KOAL 107.3 FM or 750 AM for the Landon’s Diesel Service Pre-game Show at 6:30.
The live stream of the game will also be available at castlecountryradio.com