The Emery Spartans extended their winning streak to six games with a hard fought 56-54 win over the Juab Wasps in the Region 12 opener Friday night in Nephi.
Locked in a back-and-forth battle throughout the night, the Spartans managed to overcome a slight fourth quarter deficit by ending the game on a 16-11 run. The win keeps Emery’s unbeaten month alive as the team has not lost since the second game of the season back on November 29.
Seniors Creek Sharp and Zack Tuttle each scored six points in the fourth quarter to help lift the Spartans late in regulation. The game hung in the balance from start to finish as Juab never led by more than four, while Emery’s largest lead was seven.
“Coach said that it’s a loud environment and they would make some runs,” said Tuttle following the win. “We knew we needed to just play our game and at the end whoever finishes with the biggest run is probably going to win the game.”
Luke Justice led the Spartans offensively as he poured in a game-high 14 points. Wade Stilson scored six in each half to finish with 12. Tuttle and Sharp ended with 11 and 10, respectively.
The two teams traded baskets over the final three minutes of regulation, but it was Emery that came up big when the moments called for it. Both Tuttle and Mason Stilson converted two clutch trips to the charity stripe, while Sharp found success at the rim in the final minutes.
While the offense came up big down the stretch, the Spartans excelled defensively. Juab junior Austin Park entered Friday’s contest averaging over 17 points per game. Emery made life difficult on the junior as he scored a season-low four points and was held to just one field goal.
“Our whole plan was to try to get the ball out of his hands as much as possible, but it’s so hard because he is so good,” said Tuttle. “All of us are great defenders and I thought we did as good of a job as we could.”
Both teams went into Friday’s game with similar non-region paths. Both teams earned wins over Providence Hall and Union, while also sharing the lone loss to South Summit.
The six-game winning streak is the second longest in the coach Dave Justice era, just two shy of last year’s eight game streak to end the regular season. The Spartans can extend to seven when the season continues next week.
The Spartans will next welcome in the Delta Rabbits on Wednesday in the final game of the 2023 calendar year. The home game for Emery will serve as Delta’s region opener.