Friday night was Senior Night for Spartan Basketball as the crowd thanked seven seniors for their hard work and dedication to Spartans Athletics, after the pre-game ceremony, it was time to go to work against the Juab Wasps. While the game was played even throughout, a six-point difference in the fourth gave Juab the 64-58 win.
Seven seniors played their final game at the Spartan Center on Friday. Jace Frandsen, Scott Johansen, West Johansen, Will Jeffs, Porter Hurdsman, Braxton Butler, and Devin Rasmussen will all graduate this spring and move on from Emery High.
Juab started the game on a 10-0 run, causing coach Dave Justice to take an early timeout. The Spartans would break through when Butler would go on the baseline and stop the bleeding at 10-2 with five minutes left in the first; Emery would then go on a 10-2 run with just under two minutes left, capped off by a West Johansen bucket as time expired and the Spartans would find themselves down one, 17-16. Frandsen would get the scoring started in the second quarter, hitting the shot and absorbing a foul sending him to the line where he missed the free throw, but West Johansen grabbed the miss and put it back in for two. Emery would battle with Juab throughout the quarter as the Wasps would build a lead, and then the Spartans used the remainder of the period to claw their way back, tying the game up at 34-34 with 30 seconds left in the half with a three by Hurdsman sending both teams to the locker room.
The third quarter was very competitive, with both teams fighting each other throughout. Neither team was able to create a gap, and when the eight minutes were completed, the two teams found themselves right where they did at halftime, tied 46-46, heading to the fourth. In the final quarter, each team carried over the intensity from the third, but the Wasps started to pull away from the Spartans, going on an 8-0 run until Frandsen stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer with just over a minute remaining. Juab would start to pull away once again at the foul line until Frandsen played the hero again to cut the Wasp’s lead to four 60-56, but that was as close as they could get with Juab taking the 64-58 win.
Frandsen led the way for the Spartans with 19 points, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists. West Johansen had 14 with six boards and three assists, and Scott Johansen added 12 with 4 boards and a pair of assists.
Emery now enters the postseason holding the No. 9 spot in the final RPI which means they will be on the road Saturday to face American Heritage Academy in American Fork. You would have to go back to the 2020 season for the last time these two met up with the Spartans taking a 68-54 win powered by Treven Brazier’s 21 and Riggs Griffin’s 20 to open the season.
Coverage begins with the Landon’s Diesel Service Pre-game Show at 12:30, tip-off at 1:00. Audio is available on KOAL 107.3 FM or 750 AM, as well as castlecountryradio.com and the Castle Country Radio app. The video stream will be available on our YouTube channel- Castle Country Sports- Emery.