Basketball Game Preview: Emery Spartans vs. Uintah Utes

The Emery Spartans just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Uintah Utes at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

On Friday, Emery ended up a good deal behind Canyon View and lost 70-51. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 93rd, while the Falcons are ranked 27th).

Meanwhile, Uintah unfortunately witnessed the end of their nine-game winning streak on Monday. They took a hard 66-49 fall against Morgan. The game marked the Utes' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Emery will have to contain Gideon Owen as he made an impact in Uintah's last game. He almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds. Owen is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Dauson Gardiner, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 12 boards.

Even though they lost, Uintah smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in four consecutive contests.

Emery has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-8 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.5 points per game. As for Uintah, their loss dropped their record down to 9-2.

Everything went Emery's way against Uintah when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as Emery made off with a 72-51 victory. Will Emery repeat their success, or does Uintah have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.