On Friday night, the Emery Spartans welcomed the Logan Grizzlies for the opening round of the 3A State Championships. Logan came in with a 5-17 record and the No. 13 spot. Emery sat at 15-8 and held the No. 4 spot. Emery fought back and had built a lead going into the final quarter, but Logan still had something in the tank, giving them a scare as the Spartans rallied to win the game 60-55.

Emery started the first quarter on an 8-0 run, and it wasn’t until the 5-minute mark that Logan would get on the board, but by the 2-minute mark, the Grizzlies had taken the lead by a score of 9-8. At around the 1:30 mark, off a miss by the Grizzlies, Logan Lester would drive the floor and give the Spartans a 10-9 lead, but a three-pointer by the Grizzlies gave Logan a 12-10 lead. On the other end, Brek Griffin drove baseline and hit an awkward shot that went in, drawing a foul, and hit the foul shot, giving Emery a 13-12 lead. The Grizzlies would hit a three to close out a hectic quarter, taking a 15-13 lead.

Moving into the second quarter, Logan had gained a 17-15 edge, and at the 5:49 mark, Brek Griffin hit a corner three to give Emery the one-point lead. As the quarter started to wind down, Emery had a 25-24 lead with 1:50  left in the half, and Logan would hit one of two free throws to tie the game up at 25-25, setting up the scene for the last 1:30. The Spartans would step in front of a pass from the Grizzlies and take it the other way with Porter Sitterud finishing to give Emery a 27-25 lead. On the ensuing possession for the Grizzlies, a missed shot, and another two-pointer from Griffin would put the Spartans’ lead at 29-25 as the half came to an end.

At the halfway point of the third quarter, after Emery had taken over, Logan tied the contest at 36, but Garrett Conover’s 3-pointer took the lead right back for the Spartans. Emery held the Grizzlies scoreless for the last three minutes of the quarter, and a barrage of threes gave them a 47-38 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

In the fourth quarter, the three-pointers the Grizzlies had been missing throughout the contest started to fall as they began to challenge the Spartans, going on a run and cutting it to three points with 2 minutes left in the quarter, 55-52. For Emery, Griffin hit a jumper but was called for a flop, his second of the game, sending Logan to the free-throw line, where they hit one of two to get within two points, 55-53. After a timeout, Sitterud would drive the lane, getting the score to put Emery up 57-53 with 1:30 left in the game. At the 1:22 mark, Logan would hit a three-pointer to bring the Grizzlies within one, 57-56, and then it would go back and forth until about 37 seconds left in the contest when a timeout was called, and that’s when the confusion began. The Spartans would get to the foul line, making one of two, putting the score at 58-56. During a Logan timeout, the scorer’s table called over the officials, and a discussion ensued. By the end of the discussion, it was found that Logan’s score was incorrect; it was actually 58-55, meaning that now a three-pointer would tie it instead of giving them the win, the Grizzlies got a good look at one and missed, and then Emery went down and would score to give them the 60-55 victory.

Griffin led all scores with 26 in the contest. Lester scored 11, and Maddex Taney had eight in the win that would advance Emery to Cedar City on Thursday

Emery will face Grantsville after their upset win over No. 5 Juab, 60-54.

You can catch the action live on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM, starting with Landon’s Diesel Service Pregame show at 9:00 a.m., and tip-off is set for 9:30.

You can watch the contest against Logan by accessing the player below: