RECAP >> Steve Yoder said his team would play better in its next game following a good showing earlier this week in a respectable 12-point loss to rival Parkland.
Whether they played better or not for the entire 32 minutes of last night’s game with Northampton is debatable, but Emmaus did do just enough to hold on and pick up its first win of the season at ‘The Hive’ as they upset the Konkrete Kids in a entertaining 48-44 win.
The Hornets (1-3 overall, 1-1 EPC) built as much as an 11-point lead (44-33) with just 2:39 left in regulation after outscoring Northampton 10-2 to start the fourth quarter, then held on late to hand the Konkrete Kids their first loss.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a veteran team or a young team, if you have an 11-point lead that late in the game you’re suppose to win,” said a relieved Yoder outside his team’s locker room. “Devastating is a pretty tough word (had we loss), but I’m glad I don’t have to think about whether it was devastating because we won.”
Emmaus didn’t help its cause by going a woeful 2-for-10 from the free throw line in the final eight minutes of the game, but one of those made free throws was key in sealing the victory as sophomore Meech Rogers converted on 1 of 2 attempts with just 7.2 left in the regulation to put the game out of reach.
The Hornets had three players reach double figures as junior Danny Bohman led all scorers with a game-high 15 points, 10 coming in the second half. Classmate Patrick Tulio also had a solid game with a double-double, finishing with a career-high 12 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Jayden Walsh also reached double figures for the third time this season 11 points to go along with 8 boards. Emmaus drained a season-high nine 3-pointers in the win.
“We’re getting better,” said Yoder. “Anybody that watches us knows that these kids compete, we just did need to get better with the execution part. We beat a good veteran, senior-laden offensively-gifted team and held them to 44 points. We’re a pretty good defensive team.
“I’m happy for these kids, he added. “I know it was a tough start at 0-3, but this is a fun group to be around and coach. They were all in tonight and so was the coaching stuff. We got a win.”
Northampton, which dropped to 2-1 on the season, was led by senior Donte Rodriguez who had a team-high 11 points and sophomore Isaac Harris who finished with 10.
Emmaus will return to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday as they travel to Nazareth.
To keep up to date on the team throughout the season, like Emmaus boys basketball on facebook and follow @Emmaussports.com on twitter for continued updates.
Northampton – Spencer Cole 3 0-0 7, Donte Rodriguez 4 2-2 11, Zac Gula 2 0-3 4, Isaac Harris 3 4-5 10, Jon Altemose 2 0-0 4, Joe Kerbacher 1 0-0 3, Jake Christman 2 1-2 5. Totals: FG 17, FT 7-14, 3s – 3 (Cole, Rodriguez, Kerbacher)
Emmaus – Jayden Walsh 4 1-3 11, Ryan Todd 0 0-0 0, Danny Bohman 5 2-4 15, Mason Boyd 1 0-0 2, Patrick Tulio 4 1-3 12, Meech Rogers 1 1-4 4, Shep Henseler 0 0-0 0, Jameel Sanders 1 0-0 2, Patrick Hunter 0 0-0 0, Jayden Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Jadis Brevitt 1 0-0 2, Alec Ward 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 17, FT 5-14, 3s – 9 (Walsh 2, Bohman 3, Tulio 3, Rogers)
Northampton – 8-14-9-13 – 44
Emmaus – 10-10-9-19 – 48
JV – Northampton 54-49 (Emmaus: Chase Marcks 17 points, Jadis Brevitt 15)