ETV News stock photo by Dusty Butler
The Spartans’ basketball season officially began on Thursday night against American Heritage. Treven Brazier was blistering hot from the field in the first quarter. He connected on three three-pointers and scored 14 of the Spartans’ first 18 points. Riggs Griffin heated up in the second quarter with several buckets to help Emery lead 35-28 at the half. The Spartans shot the ball well in the first half, doing a good job of getting to their spots.
The Patriots cut the lead down to three by the end of the third quarter, but Emery rallied with a dominating 20-9 finish. The Spartans won 68-54 and gave head coach Jeff Cisneros his first win at Emery. Brazier ended the night with 21 points followed by Griffen with 20. Emery did a good job of limiting its height disadvantage by playing fast while finding quality looks from the court.
Emery was back at it on Saturday night at home in the Spartan Center. The Spartans were flustered early due to Juan Diego’s size and athleticism. The Soaring Eagles forced several turnovers, which led to easy fast-break points. Emery was able to hang around, however, and trailed only by five after the first quarter. The Spartans cut it to one in the second quarter before Juan Diego pushed it back to five, 35-30, by halftime.
The Spartans continued to battle in the second half and made it a one-score game before disaster struck in the fourth quarter. Juan Diego opened the period with a 12-0 run as Emery could not hold onto the ball. Multiple turnovers again led to quick points for the Eagles, and the Spartans were unable to recover. They went without a field goal in the final quarter as all six points came from the foul line.
Brazier led the team with 16 points followed by Jaxton Madsen with 10. Tysen Curtis played big minutes off the bench in the 71-54 loss.
With a shortened preseason, the Spartans are learning on the fly and will continue to work out the kinks as the year goes on. Emery (1-1) will take on Union (0-0) on Wednesday at home. That game will be streamed live on ETV Channel 10 and online at etvnews.com/livesports. The Spartans will then travel to play South Summit (0-2) on Friday.