Summary

Unable to recover from a slow start, the Emery Spartans suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the American Leadership Academy Eagles 74-53 Wednesday night at the Spartan Center in Castle Dale.

Unable to recover from a slow start, the Emery Spartans suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the American Leadership Academy Eagles 74-53 Wednesday night at the Spartan Center in Castle Dale.

Points came at a premium early for Emery as the team was held to just seven points in the first quarter. ALA took full advantage, carrying a 16-7 lead into the second. The advantage grew each quarter as the Eagles produced efficiently, moving to 2-2 on the season.

“I was super impressed with ALA,” said Emery coach Dave Justice. “Credit to them, that’s a good team, and I think they are going to do some damage if they continue to shoot like that.”

The Eagles attacked Emery’s zone defense with a three-point barrage. As a team, ALA connected on 10 three-point makes, six of which came from guard Jalen Brewer.

Big man Cooper Crockett paced the Eagles with a game-high 27 points, while Brewer complemented the center with 24. Nathias Jacks overcame early foul trouble to score eight points, and Jakobe Ross chipped in with six.

“I think they did a great job defensively. I think their big guy kind of scared us off some shots we typically take, and he was great offensively,” said Justice. “I thought we did a lot better job offensively in the final three quarters.”

Porter Sitterud carried the bulk of Emery’s offense early, scoring 15 of his team’s best 22 points in the first half. Maddex Taney found success with his mid-range game, scoring 12 points. Brek Griffin contributed 11 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.

Wednesday’s loss marks the first setback of the season for the Spartans, who raced to a 4-0 start to open the season. The challenging early schedule included wins against 5A opponents Roy and Granger, as well as 3A mainstays Juab and Delta.

The Spartans will have an opportunity to get back in the win column immediately as they will travel to the Bear River Classic for three games in three days.

First up will be a meeting with the host school, Bear River. Emery will return to the court on Friday against Ogden, before closing out the weekend against Northridge. Following the busy weekend, Emery will host the San Juan Broncos on Wednesday, Dec. 10.