Emery boys basketball came to Monroe to play the 14-3 South Sevier Rams Friday and played a trio of exciting, close games. South Sevier is the number two ranked 2A team on Deseret News behind Wasatch Academy and hasn’t lost to a 2A opponent so far this season. Race Parsons plays for the Rams and is the leading scorer throughout the state across all divisions, averaging 27.7 PPG.
The sophomore game was a frustrating one, but the Spartans were able to squeak out the victory 66-65 on a last second offensive rebound put back by Beau Roundy. In the first quarter Emery only scored 6 points and came out of the gates slow, unable to put the ball in the basket. In the second, the Spartans picked it up and held a brief lead of 15-13 but back–to-back threes from the Rams gave them the 27-23 advantage. The third started as a back and forth game as the Rams nailed a three and Emery would match it. Emery pulled ahead in the fourth and outscored South Sevier 26-18. The last play of the game Jackson Jensen missed a layup and Beau Roundy put it back in to win a tight and exciting game
South Sevier’s JV team came out with something to prove after losing to Emery earlier in the year. Emery faltered in the second and third quarters and lost the game by five. Emery couldn’t win this one despite a great rebounding performance, pulling down 52 boards. In the first, Emery started off great and played well both offensively and defensively, leading 20-14 headed into the second. In the second and third Emery struggled, especially from behind the three point line. The Spartans tried a comeback in the fourth and came within four, but free throw shooting killed them in the last three minutes of the game and finished 9 for 26 from the charity stripe. The final score was 67-62. The Spartans suffered only their second loss of the year and played hard but just couldn’t hit shots when needed.
The varsity game was a crazy one for three quarters and the Spartans really challenged South Sevier,  but weren’t able to sustain, or contain Race Parsons for all four quarters. Emery managed to keep ahold of the ball with only seven turnovers for the game but couldn’t stop the South Sevier offense towards the end of the third or the fourth quarter. Parsons went off for 42 and hit some unbelievable shots from five to ten feet behind the three point line.  Austin Clark also scored in bunches for the Rams and dropped 26 points. In the first South Sevier jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and it appeared it could be a long night for the Spartans but Emery came back after Bay Faimalo converted a three point play and right after that Bay hit a three from behind the arc. The game had many lead changes and ties, and was an emotional game for both teams. The beginning of the third quarter was still back and forth between the teams and Emery took a 5 point lead, their largest of the game after Spencer Labrum’s three, but after that it was all South Sevier as they made an 11 point run and Parsons hit a crazy deep three to end the quarter. Dawson Jensen fouled out in the third, which hurt Emery as the Rams continued to dominate. Emery came within nine in the fourth but couldn’t put away on Race Parson’s three point play. Bay Faimalo is the MVP of the game and was impressive once again, scoring 19 points and dishing out 9 assists.
It was a great game for Emery and they proved they can hang with the best, but will need to be able to sustain their play through the whole game in the future. The Spartans are ranked #3 in 2A by Deseret News and just need to shore up a couple weaknesses before heading to State.
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