Excitement was in the air on Monday, Feb. 24, as the Emery Spartans traveled to Utah Valley University to open the double-elimination stage of the 2025 state tournament against the top-seeded Morgan Trojans. Both squads battled to open the contest, but a 23-3 run in the second quarter gave Morgan a lead they would hold until the final buzzer, defeating the Spartans 64-39.
The first quarter featured a back-and-forth affair between the two teams, with both looking to keep their dreams of a state title alive. The Trojans gained an advantage as time expired in the frame, helping them to a 13-9 edge at the end of one.
Morgan’s offensive explosion continued into the second quarter, with senior Kolton Asay continuing a 23-3 run to create a double-digit deficit midway through the period. However, the Spartans battled back into the contest courtesy of the hot hand of Porter Hurdsman. This effort resulted in a 26-18 Morgan lead at the halftime break.
The Trojans cracked the game open in the third, nearly doubling up the Spartans, outscoring Emery 19-10 in the quarter. West Johansen would convert on an and-one opportunity to start the scoring for Emery, but the continued shotmaking of Asay made it a 45-28 affair heading into the fourth and final period.
The fourth quarter featured an identical scoring output for the Trojans, again putting up 19 points to bolster their lead. Emery would continue to fight, with Jace Frandsen, Scott Johansen and Will Jeffs helping the Spartans to an 11-point frame. As the clock ticked down to zero, Emery found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard, falling to Morgan 64-39.
“I think we played really well defensively,” said Emery Head Coach Dave Justice following the game,” For the most part when we didn’t turn it over we got some good looks and unfortunately we just didn’t hit a high enough percentage to maintain pace with their offense.”
In the scorebook, Frandsen and West Johansen led the way with nine apiece. The trio of Scott Johansen, Ajay Thomas and Porter Hurdsman each added five and Will Jeffs put up four.
With the loss, the Spartans fall to the consolation bracket, where they will face the South Summit Wildcats in a win-or-go-home showdown at 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25. That game will be streamed on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM as well as on YouTube at Castle Country Sports- Emery.