ETV News stock photo by Dusty Butler
Emery traveled to Blanding last Friday to take on San Juan in a pivotal region game. The Spartans jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as 12 points by the second quarter.
San Juan put up a ton of threes in the match to inch closer to Emery. The crowd roared back into the contest when the Broncos tied it up at 62 in the third quarter. The Spartans responded immediately with a mini 5-0 run but the Broncos were not to be denied. They went on a 14-2 run at the end of the third quarter and took control of the game.
Emery would go on to lose in gut-wrenching fashion, 105-100.
With the loss, Emery falls to 3-3 in region. South Sevier ended their game against Richfield on Friday on a 15-4 run to come back and beat the Wildcats in the low scoring affair, 41-39. That puts South Sevier and Richfield in a deadlock tie for first with 5-1 records. San Juan is currently in third at 3-2 but Emery still has home games against the Rams and Broncos on their schedule. The winner of the region could easily have three losses if the top four teams continue to beat up on each other. But, because Emery has lost to each of the top three teams already, they have put themselves in a tough position. They will need to win out to have a realistic shot at the region title.
The Spartans (11-4, 3-3 Region 15) will look to answer the bell this week against the number one teams in Region 15. First, they will host South Sevier (13-2, 5-1 Region 15) on Wednesday night in the Spartan Center. Then, they will travel to Richfield (10-5, 5-1 Region 15) on Friday to take on the Wildcats. Both games will be streamed live online. Wednesday night’s contest will be broadcast live on ETV Channel 10 as well.