By Hayden Johnson
Emery fell to the South Summit Wildcats in the quarter finals of the 2A state basketball tournament 62-48. Emery was able to hang with South Summit through three quarters but poor shooting, the inability to put points on the board and foul trouble doomed the Spartans.
Four Emery players had nine or more points for Emery. Bailey Faimalo led the Spartans with 13 points and 6 assists. Dillon Wilstead scored 12 points to go along with five steals, and sophomore Beau Roundy was big for Emery down low with nine points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
Emery came back from a slow start offensively and got out to an early 5-3 lead. The entire first quarter proved to be competitive as the teams went back and forth on the scoreboard. Roundy came in towards the end of the first quarter and contributed right away with two blocks. South Summit held the early advantage 15-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The Wildcats started the second quarter strong. After Gavin McDermott picked up his fourth foul on a controversial charge call (his third in the half), South Summit was able to build an eight point lead. The Spartans would not go away however, as they stormed their way to a 6-0 run in the last minute of the half. Emery finished the quarter strong and found themselves down 26-24.
For the most part, Emery was able to stop the Wildcat’s best scorer Beau Rydalch, thanks to a box-and-one from the Spartans and great defense by McKlane Allred.
The Spartans held a 28-26 lead early in the third, Emery’s only lead in the second half of the game. South Summit slowly got out to another eight point lead thanks to shots falling for the Wildcat guards who were able to knock down their attempts all game. Once again though, Emery would not go away easily and finished the quarter with a run. The Spartans trailed at the end of three, 40-37.
South Summit got out to a 47-38 lead early in the fourth. The Spartans mounted a small comeback after a pair of threes from Faimalo to cut the lead to five. McDermott fouled out of the game and Beau Roundy was benched due to a technicality. The loss of these two players really hurt Emery.
Free throw shooting sealed the game for South Summit down the stretch and the Wildcats were able to get the win. “We came out and played our game and things just didn’t fall our way,” Roundy said.
Emery now will play for fifth place against Merit Academy on Friday at 4:10 p.m.
