Preview: Emery Spartans vs. Uintah Utes
The Emery Spartans will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Uintah Utes at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Emery is looking to tack on another W to their seven-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Emery has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 23 points or more this season. Everything went their way against Delta on Wednesday as Emery made off with a 62-39 win. Given Emery's advantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while Delta is ranked 101st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Emery's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Luke Justice, who scored 16 points along with eight assists and five rebounds. That's the first time this season that Justice posted eight or more assists. Zack Tuttle was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Uintah's game last Saturday was all tied up 25-25 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They came out on top against Kelly Walsh by a score of 60-52. The win made it back-to-back wins for Uintah.
Uintah's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Dauson Gardiner led the charge by scoring 25 points along with seven rebounds. Those 25 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Murray, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds.
Emery's win bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Uintah, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 5-4 record this season.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Emery hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 63.1 points per game. It's a different story for Uintah, though, as they've been averaging only 56.2 points per game. The only thing between Emery and another offensive beatdown is Uintah. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Emery beat Uintah 65-58 in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for Emery since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
