The Emery Spartans (14-5) hosted the Richfield Wildcats (11-7) on Friday for their senior night at the Spartan Center. The Wildcats were competitive in the first quarter, holding Emery to only 10 points, but only scoring eight themselves.
The second quarter brought a nice run for the Spartans. Mason Stilson started the run off with a big three pointer. Soon after, Zach Tuttle would get a steal on his own three point line and proceed to knock it down for Emery.
On the next possession, after some solid ball movement around the top of the key, Luke Justice found Matt Olsen down low for an assisted layup. After some more tough defense from the Spartans, causing a dry spell for the Wildcats, Justice knocked down a beautiful mid-range jumper.
The Wildcats would only score five points in the quarter, but before it ended, Matt Olsen had fans on their feet as he drained a three from the corner as the buzzer would sound. Emery led the Wildcats at the half, 28-13.
The Spartans would eventually get the win on senior night, 53-39, as they improve to 6-4 in region play. They are now tied with Canyon View, a game behind Richfield and two games behind Manti as the crucial seeding games continue.
Zack Tuttle led the team in scoring with 17 points, shooting 67% from the field. He would add five rebounds and three steals to his stat line. Luke Justice had 11 points, but made his impact with his passing skills, getting seven assists for the Spartans.
Matt Olsen had nine points for his squad with three steals on the defensive end. Mason Stilson had two steals of his own to go with eight points, three boards and two assists.
Creek Sharp also had a nice night on the defensive end, stealing the ball away three times, to go with his five points and five rebounds. Wade Stilson ended the game with 10 rebounds, three points, three assists and a steal.
Emery has four tough games left of the regular season, all of which will be on the road. On Wednesday night, they will face the Manti Templars (15-6), who sit on top of the Region 12 standings.