North Sanpete Hawks victorious over Emery Spartans
North Sanpete Hawks victorious over Emery Spartans
Brad Bentley
PYRAMID SPORTS
CASTLE DALE– Bam! In a span of 32 minutes of playing time, many of the woes that bothered the North Sanpete Hawk basketball team for the first half of the Region 8 season disappeared in the wake of a 12 point, 69-57, victory over the Emery Spartans.
North Sanpete had an 0-3 record and were struggling to shake off a seven-game losing streak when they traveled to Castle Dale. For some reason, the new gym built for Emery High has good Karma for the visiting Hawks, but had not beaten the Spartans since 2003.
It was North Sanpete that handed the Spartans their first loss in that gym as they came into town with a confidence that belied their 4-12 record.
Emery had just one win in region play, having beaten the Carbon Dinos. The Spartans boasted one of the top three-point shooting teams in the state and on their own court, figured to feel right at home on either end of the floor.
Instead, the local team struggled to dial-in on their long-range jumpers, hitting only two of their 18 attempts.
The first quarter started well with their scoring, but the visiting Hawks struggled holding on to the ball against a quick Emery squad. North Sanpete turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, seven of those coming in the initial quarter.
The North Sanpete defense also struggled to keep the Spartans from getting good looks at the basket. Time and again Emery guards David Justice and Dempsey Jeffs were able to drive their way into the lane, making baskets at will in close proximity to the hoop.
When the Hawk defense did get help to shut down the two quick players, they would dish to post player, Carson Jenson.
Those three combined for 44 of the Spartan’s points as Justice hit for 20, Jeffs tallied 14, and Jeppson hit for 10 points and gathered in 11 rebounds.
The Hawks started the second quarter down 19-17, but Emery opened up a 10-point lead, 33-23 with just five minutes left in the first half.
North Sanpete refused to die, when they easily could have, and went on a 7-0 run of their own, battling back to 33-30. Mt. Pleasant senior Tyler Johanson was a big part of the comeback as he stroked two shots from behind the arc in the quarter.
Coach Keisel’s team ended their run and closed the gap to 34-33 before the Spartans scored two quick buckets late in the half to end the scoring at 38-33.
Mt. Pleasant junior Russell Christensen scored 12 points in the half to lead the Hawks. North Sanpete shot 48 percent from the field in the half and brought down 12 rebounds, but 12 turnovers and 6 for 13 from the line were areas where the Hawks needed to improve to get the win.
The battle continued in the third quarter. However, near the end of the stanza, junior Carson Jorgenson sank a bucket that gave the visiting Hawks their first lead of the game, 48-46.
Emery scored one more deuce to finish the scoring with both teams knotted at 48. Keisel received some good bench help that kept the Hawks in the game.
A solid effort was put in defensively by Fairview’s Justin Curtis and the other juniors that came in to play and upped the energy level of the Hawks.
North Sanpete took the lead for good, starting the quarter off with the first five points and moved to a 53-48 lead. Emery guard and coach’s son, Dempsey Jeffs fouled out early in the quarter.
The Hawks continued to work hard, extending their advantage to six, with the 60-54 at the 2:13 mark. Coming out of an Emery timeout, the Spartans quickly turned the ball over twice and that led to three Hawk points.
A combination of good North Sanpete defense in the second half and poor shooting by the Spartans led to the Hawk’s victory. Russell Christensen caught fire in the game, going for 23 points and working to bring in 13 rebounds.
Starting for only the second time this season, Mt. Pleasant junior Tyler Daniels put in a very solid performance as he nearly reached a double-double, scoring 10 points and harvesting nine boards.
The balanced scoring continued for North Sanpete as senior Tyler Johanson put 13 points through the hole, Matt Jacobsen was his steady self and scored 9 and Skyler Zabriskie hit for eight points from the post.
Coach Keisel took his team around the mountain to play the Carbon Dinos Jan. 30 (results not available at press time). Beating the Price team would go a long way to putting the Hawks into the playoffs as the Hawks, Dinos and Spartans are currently tied for third place with identical 1-3 region records.
First place Juan Diego will visit North Sanpete Thursday, Feb. 1. The Soaring Eagle handed Delta their first loss of the entire year and have not allowed a region team to score 40 points.
The combination of their defense and quickness will prove to be a tough test for the hometown Hawks.