Basketball Recap: Emery Finds Playoff Glory Versus American Heritage

It's playoff time, and Emery had no trouble coming through when it counted. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the American Heritage Patriots 77-74. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Spartans have posted since January 15th.

Scott Johansen

Points

02/15/25 @ American Heritage	26
01/22/25 @ Richfield	19
01/17/25 vs Delta	17
11/27/24 vs Providence Hall	16
01/04/25 vs Uintah	15
+ 19 more games

Emery's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Scott Johansen led the charge by shooting 6-for-10 from long range and almost dropping a double-double with 26 points and nine boards. Johansen has become a key player for Emery: the team is 5-1 when he posts at least 15 points, but 7-11 otherwise. West Johansen was another key player, dropping a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Emery smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.

Emery is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-12 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.8 points over those games. As for American Heritage, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-10.

Looking ahead, Emery will challenge Morgan at 11:10 a.m. on February 24th. One thing working in Morgan's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season. American Heritage does not have any more games scheduled as of now.