The Morgan Trojans will take on the Emery Spartans at 11:10 a.m. on Monday. 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.
Morgan is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They blew past North Sanpete 72-33. The Trojans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten matches by 23 points or more this season.
The match pitted two dominant guards against one another in Bracken Saunders and Ridge Hendry. Saunders had a solid game and posted 13 points in addition to six boards and five assists. Meanwhile, Hendry did his best for the losing side, going 9-for-22 on his way to 23 points and five rebounds.
American Heritage typically has all the answers at home, but on Saturday Emery proved too difficult a challenge. They skirted past the Patriots 77-74. The Spartans haven't had any issues with the Patriots recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Emery's win came from a few key players Morgan will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Scott Johansen, who shot 6-for-10 from deep and almost dropped a double-double with 26 points and nine boards. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in assists (seven). Another player making a difference was West Johansen, who dropped 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 games.
Morgan pushed their record up to 23-1 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home. As for Emery, the win got them back to even at 12-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Morgan has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 34.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Emery struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Morgan against Emery in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, as the squad secured a 79-40 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Morgan since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
