The second seeded Emery Spartans battled the Judge Memorial Bulldogs, who started the tournament with the tenth seed at SVC on Thursday afternoon for a Quarterfinals matchup.
The game started off with a big block by Wade Stilson, who then found Zack Tuttle on the fast break, for the first basket of the game. Luke Justice and Creek Sharp would score the next points for Emery, but the Bulldogs were feeling their stride from deep, as they would score three three-pointers and give up 21 points in the first quarter.
This had the second quarter beginning with a score of 17-21, in favor of Judge Memorial. Justice began the second with a nice reverse layup and another strong finish a couple plays later, bringing the Bulldog lead to just two.
Stilson had a few nice plays closing out the second, playing great defense and scoring on the other end. Judge Memorial was relentless from the three-point line. They would score two more threes in the last two minutes of the half, bringing the score at the break, 27-37, Bulldogs in the lead.
Judge started where they left off in the second, scoring two more three-pointers to start the second half. Scoring four from beyond the arc in the third quarter, as they would outscore the Spartans in the third, bringing their lead to 58-43.
Stilson would start the fourth with a nice mid-range jumper to start an Emery run. Followed by a Tuttle layup and a big three-pointer by Wade Stilson. Stilson would then force a steal off the baseline, scoring another basket for the Spartans, bringing the Bulldog lead to six.
With a minute and a half left in the game, Tuttle completed a nice and-one opportunity to close the gap to five. Both teams would have multiple trips to their own free throw line as the game clock ran down to less than a minute left.
Time was not on the Spartans side, as their hope for a state championship would unfortunately come to an end, with a score 69-63. They will play in the consolation game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday against #11 Union.
Photos by Maxwell Misner
