On Friday, Carbon and Emery clashed in an instant classic. The Spartans got off to the best start and were up 12-9 after the first quarter. It was a relatively low-scoring game as each team played tight defense in the heated battle.
Carbon began to pick up steam in the second period and pulled within one point (22-21) by halftime. Emery exploited the Dinos’ lack of size coming out of the break, constantly feeding the ball to Brett Rassmusen. The junior center did his part and promptly scored nine of his 12 points. Emery lengthened its lead, but the game was far from over.
The final eight minutes featured a number of lead changes in an overall exciting contest. While the Spartans would finish shooting 50 percent on the night, their 22 turnovers came back to haunt them. Emery threw the ball away in critical moments down the stretch and Carbon took advantage with fast-break points.
The Dinos pulled ahead and went up by four in the final seconds. A desperation three went in from Spartan Ryker Jensen, but with just one second left on the clock. The Dinos inbounded the ball and ended the game. Carbon came back to win 49-48 over Emery.
Jackson Griffeth was named the Tram Electric Player of the Game as he led the Dinos with 17 points. Jordan Fossat made some crucial three-pointers and finished with 12 points. Overall, Carbon shot 34 percent from the field, but 33 percent (8-24) from beyond the arc. A complete group effort was needed from the scrappy Dinos to pull off the comeback against an Emery team that had one of its better nights.
The Spartans (4-11, 1-2) will return home to host Grand (5-12, 0-3) on Wednesday and Richfield (6-9, 2-1) on Friday. The Dinos only have one game this week and it will come on Friday night against Grand. Both games against the Red Devils will be streamed live on ETV Channel 10 and online at etvnews.com/livesports.
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- Photos by Jeff Barrett
