On Friday night, the regular season came to an end in the most fitting way possible, with Carbon and Emery meeting on the court in Castle Dale at the Spartan Center. The Spartans already held a share of the Region 13 title, and the Dinos were looking to improve their standing in the final rankings that would be released the next morning. The game started out fast and finished even faster with the Dinos taking a 58-56 win.

The Spartans closed out the regular season with a 14-9 record overall, going 5-3 in the region, and will be looking to host a home game in the first round of the State Championships, which begin next week. The Dinos ended the regular season 9-13, knowing they would go on the road for the opening round of the tournament.

With it being the final regular-season contest, the Spartans celebrated “Senior Night”, and Emery honored their lone senior, Porter Sitterud.

The first quarter started in a flurry with shots dropping in for both teams, for both sides, and it was pretty quick as the Spartans held a slight edge, 14-13

In the second quarter, the battle continued, with the score tied at the 4:30 mark. With a little over a minute left in the period, the Dinos put together a small run to take a 27-22 lead into the locker room at the half.

Coming out of the half, the Dinos added to their lead, pushing it to 30-22, until Brek Griffin drove the lane to draw the foul, hitting both free throws, but by the five-minute mark, Carbon had pushed its lead to 10, 34-24. With three minutes left, thanks to a bucket by the Spartans’ Logan Lester, who was fouled on the shot and hit the free throw, cutting that lead in half, Carbon quickly went down the floor to hit a three-pointer by Cash Withers, which the Spartans’ Brek Griffin answered. A barrage of scoring would take place in the final minute with the Dinos holding a 42-37 lead.

By the halfway point of the fourth, Carbon held a 51-46 lead, but Emery wasn’t ready to give up as they continued to battle for every loose ball and every rebound. Around the 1:30 mark, after another Dino three from Withers, the Spartans upped their score with a three of their own by Porter Sitterud to put the score at 55-49. A coast to coast layup by Sitterud cut the Dino lead to 57-53 with 15.5 left. Sitterud would get the Spartans within one at 57-56 with 5.4 left. An intentional foul on Emery sent the Dinos to the line, where they hit one of one. As time ran out, the Spartans drove the lane for a layup, but the shot was blocked, giving the Dinos the 58-56 win.

Porter Sitterud led all scorers in the contest, collecting 23 points for the Spartans. Brek Griffin added 19, and Logan Lester and Garrett Conover added five points each in the loss.

Logan Bennett led the way for the Dinos with 15, Kyler Orth and Ty Mortensen each added 10, and Cash Withers had nine in the win.

On Saturday morning, the Spartans and the Dinos will find out who they will face when MaxPreps and the Utah High School Activities Association release the final rankings and bracket for the 3A State Championships.

You can watch the contest by accessing the player below.