Emery boy’s basketball travelled to Price during the winter break on Friday to play Carbon for a second time this season. After the Dinos took home the last win, Spartans were looking for redemption.
The freshman continued their impressive undefeated streak with their ninth straight win with a score of 60-53, their second time beating out the Dino’s sophomore team. The Spartans started out the game strong and ran the break, particularly in the second quarter when they were up 23-15. Kevin Butler started out the game well in the first, where he scored 6 points; he ended with 10 for the game shooting 5/5. Tai Justice and Ridge Nielson continued their excellent guard play and were able to get steals and fast break opportunities. Justice had 22 points, 16 of which came in the first half, and was able to fill up the stat sheet with seven rebounds, five steals and three assists. Nielson finished with 10 assists and six steals. The Dinos would rally back however, and tied the game at 28 in the second before a 6-0 run by Emery to end the half increased the score at halftime to 34-28. The Spartans had nine steals and eight offensive rebounds in the first half requiring excellent hustle from Emery. In the third, Emery jumped out to an early lead of 41-28, but once again Carbon came back to make it a game in the fourth coming within five until a steal and a layup by Nielson clinched it. Emery outrebounded Carbon 34-18 and was able to get second chance points that helped the Spartans. Tyson Roper contributed greatly with 18 points on 88% shooting. He also had six rebounds and three steals and was able to get to the free throw line seven times.
Junior varsity lost to Carbon during their last match-up, giving the Spartans something to prove. The team played with an urgency they didn’t possess in the first game, which enabled the 61-41 win. The game started out with a low scoring first quarter where Emery lead 8-5. In the second, Tai Justice came in with back-to-back three point plays, the first old fashioned, making a layup then getting fouled and hitting the free throw. The next play Justice hit a three from behind the line in the corner. Justice’s play jump started the team into a run midway through the second quarter where Emery jumped up to a lead of eight, until Carbon made a 7-3 run with a score of 23-19 headed into the half. The teams were evenly matched in the third quarter and in the fourth, Emery pulled away and outscored Carbon 24-12. A team performance paved the way for the Spartans in this one, and four players scored in double figures for Emery. Dillon Wilstead had 16 points and eight assists; Otis Addison had 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks; Gavin McDermott had 10 points and nine rebounds; Mcklane Allred had 12 points and five rebounds.
Emery’s varsity continues to be in a mid-season slump and didn’t play well with a 67-59 loss at Carbon. The team struggled to shoot the ball from everywhere on the court including down low, but free throws are what truly hurt the Spartans, missing 15. In the first quarter the Dinos outscored Emery 19-9, which set the tone for the remainder of the game. Every Spartan had at least two fouls, with three players fouling out before the final buzzer.  The Spartans inability to hit big shots, particularly free throws cost Emery the win. Bay Faimalo struggled with his worst game of the season only shooting 17% from the field, 2 for 5 from the free throw line, and committing six turnovers. Dawson Jensen had a decent game with 10 points and three blocked shots, and Spencer Labrum had 10 rebounds. The shining star for the second straight game is Dillon Wilstead, who once again scored 25 points. Wilstead also had four assists and shot a team high 73%. Wilstead was aggressive and got to the rim in this game, almost leading the Spartans back. At 4-5 Emery will look to improve against Dugway on Wednesday if they want a shot at the region title.
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