The Dinos welcomed their cross-county rivals to the gym at Carbon High on Wednesday evening. Rivalry games can always be competitive, and no matter the sport, when Carbon and Emery get together, sparks fly. Carbon led after the first half, but came out in the third and opened up a lead they would never relinquish as they took round one, 64-57.
The Dinos sit at 7-11 overall and hold a 2-2 mark in region play, while ranking No. 12 in the latest MaxPreps and Utah High School Activities Association rankings. The Spartans are 11-8, with an identical 2-2 region mark, and sit at No. 5. Both teams have made it through the first round of conference play, and each has just four games left in the regular season.
The two teams came out, and up until the 1:39 mark in the first quarter, it was the Spartans who held the lead, but that was when Cash Withers hit a three with Porter Sitterud in his face, tying things up at 12. Carbon would add two more to take a 14-12 lead at the end of the first. In the second quarter, Emery’s struggles from the three-point line continued until just over a minute to go when Brek Griffin found the range to cut the Carbon lead to 23-20. The Dinos would build the lead back up to 29-25 at halftime.
The Spartans came out strong offensively, but the Dinos were great. Carbon pushed their lead in the third, leading at one point by seven, 37-30, when Jakson Bosone hit a runner in the lane at the 3:44 mark. The Dinos outscored Emery 23-13 in the quarter, carrying a 53- 38 lead to the fourth. The Spartans tried to claw their way back into the contest and cut into the Dino lead, but were unable to overcome the deficit as the Dinos earned the 64-57 victory.
For the Spartans, Porter Sitterud led the way with 17, adding one block and one steal. Brek Griffin had 14 with eight boards, three steals, and a pair of blocks, and Ben Johansen added nine with two rebounds in the loss.
Cash Withers scored 12 for Carbon, also collecting one rebound. Jakson Bosone scored 12 to go with three rebounds and a pair of steals, and Kyler Orth had 10 with two rebounds and two steals in the win.
Carbon jumps back on the floor on Friday when the Union Cougars come to town. Union comes in with an 8-10 overall record and a 3-1 region record. In their first meeting, the Dinos came up short, 67-59.
You can catch the action live on KRPX 95.3 The Peak and on our YouTube channel, Castle Country Radio – Carbon.
The Landon’s Diesel Pre-game show will begin at 6:30 with tip-off to follow at 7:00 p.m.
The Spartans won’t take to the floor until Wednesday, January 28, when the Manti Templars come to the Spartans Center. Manti will enter the game with a 7-12 overall record and a 3-1 region record. The first meeting this season, in Manti, was a 76-61 win for the Spartans.
You can catch the action live on KOAL 107.3 FM or 750 AM, and on a live video stream on our YouTube channel, Castle Country Radio – Emery.
The Landon’s Diesel Pre-game show will begin at 6:30 with tip-off to follow at 7:00 p.m.
You can watch the Emery Carbon matchup by using the player below.