Back-to-back games are never easy, especially on a Friday and Saturday, but that is exactly what the Emery Spartans faced over the weekend. On Friday night they welcomed the Manti Templars to the Spartan Center for a region tilt taking the 61-55 win. Then on Saturday, they made the long road trip to Blanding to face the San Juan Broncos taking a heartbreaking loss in overtime 71-67.

Emery sits at 4-7 overall and holds the No. 10 spot in the latest RPI rankings.

Friday evening the Spartans welcomed the Templars to the Spartan Center for a Region 12 matchup. Emery was able to overcome a slow start and then use a big second quarter to earn the 61-55 victory.

Manti was the aggressor in the first as the Spartans started quietly with the Templars putting up 12 in the quarter as they would hold a five-point advantage over Emery. The Spartans came alive in the second using the time to not only tie up Manti but taking a 27-25 lead to the lockers at halftime.

In the second half, both teams would battle back and forth as Emery would outscore Manti 19-16 in the third maintaining their lead 46-41 going to the fourth. In the final quarter, the Templars saw their opportunities to take a lead as they clawed their way through but were still unable to overtake the Spartans who earned the 61-55 win.

Manti’s Carter Mason led all scorers with 20 in the loss.

For Emery Jace Frandsen scored 14 on 5 of 6 shooting from the charity stripe. West Johansen had 13 with eight rebounds and three assists, and Scott Johansen added 12 with 11 boards.

On Saturday, the Spartans made the long road trip to Blanding to face the Broncos. Emery was in control for most of the contest but had a slip-up in the third quarter that opened the door just enough for San Juan as they took a 71-67 win in overtime.

The Spartans took control early on putting 19 on the scoreboard and holding the Broncos to 11 as the two teams headed to the second quarter. San Juan came back a bit in the second as they outscored Emery by one and the Spartans still took a 33-26 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The third quarter was a bit of a letdown as San Juan would outscore the Spartans in the quarter by seven and would tie the game at 43, headed to the final eight minutes. In the fourth, each team looked for an advantage but neither was able to find one as they both scored 17 and would go to overtime tied at 60.

In overtime, San Juan found a way to slow down the Spartans holding them to just seven in the period and adding 11 of their own to claim the 71-67 win in overtime.

Jake Ivins of the Broncos scored 36 to lead all scorers.

Frandsen added 22 in the game for Emery, Porter Hurdsman added 15 and West Johansen had 10 in the loss.

Emery will take a break until Friday, January 3 when they will face region foe Canyon View at the Spartan Center.

Game time is set for 7:00 p.m..