Needing a win against second place San Juan Friday night to avoid a shared Region 15 championship, the Emery Spartans didn’t disappoint, shaking off a slow first quarter and half of the second to secure the 70-40 win on senior night.
Bryce Dugmore, Beau Roundy and Mitch Richarz were honored before the game, marking the last time the trio would play on their home court.
With the win, the Spartans finish the regular season with a 9-1 Region 15 record and will be a #1 seed in next Saturday’s 2A first round in Orem.
San Juan hit the first bucket of the game, a three just 40 seconds into the first quarter. Emery responded with an 8-0 run before the Broncos came right back to tie it at eight apiece. The first quarter ended with a 15-12 Spartan lead.
San Juan took the lead back two minutes into the second on a three-point play. Tied at 18 with three minutes left, Kolton Butler found his brother Koby under the basket to begin a 13-2 run to end the half. The Spartans took their first 10-point lead of the game at the 1:20 mark on an Easton Gordon three for the 29-19 lead. Emery led 33-20 at the break.
Zac Jorgensen and Bowdie Jacobson scored the first seven points of the third quarter to push the lead to 20, 40-20, extending the 13-2 run to 20-2. Emery outscored San Juan in the third 17-8 for the 50-28 lead after three quarters of play.
It was much of the same in the fourth as the Spartans led by more than 20 for the entirety of the period, capped off by a Richarz dunk with 13 seconds left that gave Emery its largest lead of 30, 70-40.
Koby Butler led all scorers in the game with 15, his lowest offensive output since a Dec. 21 game at Carbon, in which he also scored 15. Jorgensen hit three threes en route to 14 points, his second straight game with 14. Gordon and Dugmore each chipped in 11 on the night. Emery hit seven treys in the game.
Emery (19-2, 9-1 Region 15, clinched championship) will take on the #4 seed out of Region 16, Providence Hall, on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Orem High School. The game will be broadcast live on ETV Channel 10. A web stream will also be available at the following website: https://etvnews.com/livesports/etv-10-live-stream/
Watch highlights of the Emery/San Juan game below:
