The Emery boys’ basketball squad traveled on Thursday to start play in the Bear River Tournament. On Thursday evening, they faced the host team, the Bear River Bears, with the Bears earning a 76-67 win, and on Friday afternoon, they took on the Tigers from Ogden, getting back in the win column with a 63-52 win.

The Spartans began play, taking on the host team, Bear River, while Emery controlled the first half. In the second half, the Bears took over to win.

Emery came out running in the first quarter and closed out the opening stanza with a 20-14 lead. In the second half, both teams look for an advantage, but each side added 11 points to their totals, and Emery held the lead 31-25 going to the locker room at halftime.

The Bears were looking to change their position as they jumped on the Spartans, pushing to take the lead by one as the two teams headed into the final eight minutes. Bear River was all about closing out the Spartans in the final quarter, and they were able to do that, scoring 24 points to pull away from Emery as the Bears took the 76-67 win.

Ajay Thomas led the way for Emery with 20 points. Brek Griffin added 15, and Porter Sitterud had 12 in the loss.

Emery had to put that game behind them and turn around on Friday to face the Ogden Tigers. The Spartans used a big first quarter to take the lead and would close out Ogden 63-52.

The Spartans started fast in the first quarter of the contest, going on a 24-9 run to secure a lead that they would be able to maintain throughout the game. The Tigers would outscore Emery, but the Spartans’ lead was still secure as the two teams headed to the locker room, 37-26.

Ogden was on the offensive in the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans 12-8, but Emery’s lead held firm, 45-38. The fourth and final quarter saw Emery go on an 18-14 run to close the Tigers out 63-52.

Sitterud scored 19 for the Spartans, with Griffen and Conover each adding 12 in the win.

Emery (5-2) will close out the weekend on Saturday, taking on Northridge (4-1) at 9:00 a.m.