On night two of rivalry week, the Emery Spartans made their way to Price to battle the cross-county rival, the Carbon Dinos. The atmosphere was electric as the Carbon gym was filled with students, family and friends from both counties looking forward to an entertaining matchup.
The first quarter started off with limited scoring, as both teams were playing with defensive intensity, making things difficult for the offenses to get going. The quarter would come to an end as both teams had nine points each heading into the second. West Johansen started the quarter off with a layup down low, as he was fouled, successfully converting the and-one opportunity. On the next possession, he went back to his hook shot down low, scoring another two, bringing the Emery lead to five.
Max Carlson hustled well for the Dinos, grabbing an offensive rebound, followed by a short range shot for two. He would take the same shot a couple possessions later, bringing Carbon back within one. Cannon Mortensen then snagged an offensive board, putting it back up for two points, as the Dinos took their first lead of the night with under three minutes remaining in the half.
Carter Warburton then brought down a rebound and threw a beautiful full court pass to Case Griffeth for the score under the basket. Warburton was aggressive on the defensive end, talking the ball away, as he would score two points on the other end for a layup. As the half was running low, Porter Hurdsman found Jace Frandsen on the pick and pop for three points beyond the arc, giving the Spartans back the lead as the half came to an end, 20-19.
Beginning the third quarter, West Johansen would settle in down low, scoring twice back-to-back in the post. The Dinos then executed a great play as Warburton passed to Ty Mortensen, who then bounce-passed the ball down low to his brother Cannon for the layup. On the next play, Hurdsman found Braxton Butler at the top of the key, as he added three points to the Emery score.
The score was sitting at 27-22, in favor of the Spartans. Evan Lancaster had great court vision, finding Carlson for another short-range jumper. On the next play, Scott Johansen found his brother down low, as he scored the layup for Emery. On their next possession, Butler found Frandsen on the wing, as he knocked down another shot for three points. Carbon then answered back with a score down low from Cannon Mortensen.
Things started to heat up for the Spartans as Hurdsman found Brek Griffin for a swish beyond the arc, as they extended the lead to eight points. Will Jeffs then made a couple strong moves in the post consecutively, scoring four more for his team. Jackson Bosone would then keep the Emery lead under ten as he hit a nice mid-range jumper for the Dinos.
On Emery’s next possession, Griffin found Frandsen off of the inbound pass, for his third three-pointer of the game. This was followed by Devin Rasmussen for a stop and pop score for two, extending the Emery lead once again. The third quarter came to an end, with the Spartans in control, 45-33.
Emery had the comfy lead, that they made sure to hold onto in the fourth quarter, holding the Dinos to 10 points. Giving the Spartans the win on the road over the Dinos, 62-43. Emery improves to 3-2 in Region 12, as Carbon falls to 0-5.
West Johansen led the Spartans in scoring with 17 points, along with five rebounds, two steals and a block. Jace Frandsen followed, scoring 15 for Emery. Braxton Butler had a great all-around game, scoring nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block. Will Jeffs also had nine points in the game. Hurdsman ended the night with six assists, a steal and a block. Beck Griffin finished with six points, three assists and three rebounds. Scott Johansen ended the game with four points, four rebounds and three assists.
For the Dinos, Cannon Mortensen led in scoring with 11 points, as well as seven rebounds and a block. Max Carlson was impactful, ending the game with 10 points and seven rebounds. Ty Mortensen finished the game with seven points, nine rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. Carter Warburton had four points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
Next up for the teams, Emery will host the North Sanpete Hawks on Friday at the Spartan Center for their first meeting of the year. Carbon will travel to Cedar City for a matchup against the Canyon View Falcons on Friday as well. The Richfield Wildcats (5-0) sit atop the Region 12 standings, followed by Juab (4-1), Canyon View (4-1), Emery (3-2), North Sanpete (2-3), Delta (1-4), Manti (1-4) and Carbon (0-5).
-
- Photos by Traci Bishop
