RECAP — If you ask Steve Yoder he’ll tell you.
He loves doing battle against no other team in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference than a Doug Snyder-led Allen team.
Over the years, the two have staged some epic battles between one another and Friday’s matchup before a near-capacity crowd at ‘The Hive’ was no different.
This time, Yoder got the better of his longtime coaching counterpart and friend.
Seniors Zach Sabol (24 points) and Mark Swedberg (23) combined for 47 points as Emmaus withstood a scare from a young Allen squad before pulling away late for a hard-fought 71-66 victory.
The win was the third straight for the Hornets who improved to 13-3 overall and 8-2 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Emmaus also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Canaries.
“That was what you call a typical Allen-Emmaus game,” said Yoder following the win. “In my 11 years, Doug and I have had some epic battles and I figured tonight would be no different. It was great high school basketball game. His kids played great.
“I think the difference in the game was that we made some free throws late and defensively we limited them to one and done and we didn’t turn the ball over in the second half. “
It also doesn’t hurt to have an experienced group.
Emmaus leaned on its veterans down the stretch as Sabol, Swedberg and classmate Bryce Diehl all played keep roles in helping the Hornets rally against the upset-minded Canaries who start four underclassmen and have lost five games by a combined 23 points.
“With about three to four minutes left in the game I had them in the huddle and I said that this is where our senior leadership needs to make the difference and I think it did,” said Yoder.
Both Sabol and Swedberg each scored six points in the final quarter and Diehl converted a key three-point play late in the game.
Sabol scored 15 of his game-high 24 points after halftime and the 20-plus point effort was his eighth of the season. He also pulled down 18 rebounds and blocked five shots.
Swedberg did most of his scoring in the opening half with a team-high 14 points for the Hornets who trailed 36-34 at the break. The 23-point effort was just one point off his career-high 24-point outing against Enka High School from North Carolina in Florida over the holidays.
“They were both beasts tonight,” said Yoder of Sabol and Swedberg. “I thought Mark was really, really good and you almost come to expect that from Zach which is kinda unfair to him. “
Emmaus had one of its best efforts of the season from the free throw line where they shot 74 percent (26 of 35) compared to Allen which struggled from the charity stripe at just 56 percent (13 of 23).
The Canaries (6-4 EPC, 9-6 overall) were led in scoring by freshman standout Nate Ellis who scored a team-high 21 points, but only six after halftime before fouling out with 4:16 remaining left in the game. Sophomore Emmanuel Ozuna added 10 points, while teammates senior Alexis Adames and junior Quinton Stewart just missed double figures with nine points each.
Emmaus will return to the hardwood next week playing their final two home games of the regular-season. The Hornets will host Whitehall on Tuesday and Northampton on Friday. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
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Allen – Nate Ellis 6 5-7 21, Alexis Adames 3 1-2 9, Emmanuel Ozuna 4 1-2 10, Quinton Stewart 4 1-4 9, Aquelle Adderly 2 0-0 4. Subs: Xavier Jones 1 5-7 8, Smith 0 0-0 0, Wilt 1 0-0 2, Allen Young 1 0-0 3, Stoudt 0 0-0 0. FG 22, FT 13-23, 3s (9 – Ellis 4, Adames 2, Ozuna, Jones, Young)
Emmaus – Zach Sabol 8 8-10 24, Bryce Diehl 3 4-7 10, Ethan Parvel 3 1-2 9, Mark Swedberg 6 11-13 23, Devon Boyko 0 0-0 0. Subs: Josh Moyer 0 0-0 0, Cam Brooks 0 0-0 0, Danny Bohman 1 3-4 5. Totals: FG 21, FT 27-36, 3s (2 – Parvel).
Allen – 12 – 24 – 17 – 13 – 66
Emmaus – 18 – 16 – 17 – 20 – 71
JV – Emmaus 53-45
Fresh – Allen 60-52