BILLINGS — Former Lame Deer boys basketball star Journey Emerson, who set the state single-game scoring record to help make the Morning Stars one of the best stories in Montana sports in 2022, died Friday in a car accident on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, his coach Tiger Scalpcane told The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports on Friday night.
Emerson celebrated his 21st birthday last Saturday, according to Scalpcane (who Emerson was living with at the time of his death).
Emerson was traveling with his daughter and en route to dropping her off with his girlfriend’s grandmother so that he could play in a recreational softball tournament in Billings, Scalpcane said. Emerson’s daughter was in an intensive care unit in Billings as of Friday evening as a result of the accident, and another male passenger in the car was in stable condition, per Scalpcane.
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Lame Deer’s Journey Emerson drives down the court during a game against Lodge Grass at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark in 2022.
“I remember him as kind, soft-spoken, smiling all the time, always positive,” Scalpcane said. “I never had to worry about him, never had to worry about him getting in trouble. I never had to worry about him drinking or staying out late. He always came in on time.
