Car crash claims the life of former Lame Deer star and national record holder Journey Emerson

BILLINGS – Journey Emerson, a former star basketball player for Class B Lame Deer and the state record holder for most points scored in a single game, died in a car crash Friday afternoon.

His former high school coach, Tiger Scalpcane, confirmed Emerson’s death to MTN Sports on Saturday. Scalpcane said Emerson, 21, died in a head-on collision east of Lame Deer on Highway 212.

Scalpcane posted on Facebook that Emerson’s daughter Kais also suffered injuries in the accident and was flown to Salt Lake City for medical treatment.

Emerson had lived with the Scalpcane family for several years, and Scalpcane said he and Emerson had exchanged text messages earlier in the day.

“I left the house around 11 a.m. I think it was about 12:30 p.m. when he texted me,” Scalpcane said. “He asked me if I was coming back home and I said no. He told me he was leaving and he said, ‘Should I lock up?’ and I said yes. That was the last I heard from him.”

Scalpcane said he and his family had planned to host a birthday barbecue on Sunday for Emerson, who turned 21 the previous weekend.

“It’s a tragedy,” said Scalpcane. “I just can’t stop crying. I just spoke to him. He was here in the morning and an hour later he’s gone.”

Emerson made national headlines in February 2022 when he broke the state record for most points in a game with 82 points against Forsyth.

Emerson’s performance was part of a tumultuous week in which records fell, just five days after Lodge Grass’ Damon Gros Ventre set the record with 71 points in a game at the Huntley Project.

REGARD: Lame Deer’s Journey Emerson breaks state scoring record with 82 points

Scalpcane said Emerson had been close friends since kindergarten with Scalpcane’s son, Keeshawn, who died by suicide in 2019. Scalpcane said Emerson moved in with his family in eighth grade and Emerson and Keeshawn Scalpcane were always together.

Scalpcane said Emerson’s presence did not replace Keeshawn Scalpcane’s, but it filled a special void. Emerson’s loss will now leave a void in Lame Deer and on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

“It shook the whole community,” Scalpcane said. “I know it shook the whole basketball community. It’s just devastating because he was very well-liked here. He was never mean once. He never got in trouble. He was humble.”

“His legacy is not just limited to basketball,” Scalpcane added. “He enjoyed horseback riding and herding cattle. His family is big enough to fill an entire coed softball team. The only positive I can take from this is that he is reunited with his best friend and his brother, Keeshawn.”

“I treated him like my own son. I loved him like my own son.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Emersons and Scalpcanes with unexpected funeral expenses. Click here to view the page.