It’s not often that the Emmaus boys’ basketball team is not playing in the post-season.
In fact, only once in the last five years and just twice since the 2009-10 season have the Hornets not been playing meaningful basketball.
Head coach Jerald Brown certainly knew the sustained track record of the program, being a mainstay in both the EPC and District XI Tournaments and making six appearances in states in the last nine years.
He also knew the challenge ahead for his team to keep that streak going in his first year leading the program.
In a season of a lot more downs than ups and with just four wins on their resume, Emmaus needed to play its best basketball down the stretch and go 4-0 against Allen, Dieruff, Parkland and Whitehall to qualify for districts.
Unfortunately, that did not happen and as a result, the Hornets playoff hopes ended as the Canaries came to ‘The Hive’ on Friday night and rolled to 22-point victory, 74-52.
The loss was the fourth straight and seventh in the last eight games for Emmaus, which dropped to 4-9 in the league and 4-15 overall.
“It was pretty somber in there, obviously,” said Brown of the mood in the locker room following the game. “The guys really wanted to get this victory, and they realize that the season is winding down. These are the last few quarters they have left in their high school careers. It’s tough.”
It indeed was a tough week for Brown and the Hornets going 0-3 with a 43-point blowout loss to Central Catholic on Tuesday (78-35) followed by a disappointing home defeat by 11 (70-59) to Southern Lehigh of the Colonial League.
Allen, a team that had already beaten Emmaus once this season, 78-52, raced out to a 10-point lead after the first quarter and were never really challenged the rest of the way as they spoiled the Hornets Senior Night in front of large crowd
The Canaries used a balanced scoring attack with nearly four players reaching double figures. Junior Xayvon Wimberly led all scorers with a game-high 22 points, while classmate Tiheed Wise added 18 and senior Keith Jackson 16. Another senior, Emmanuel Polanco, just missed out on double figures finishing with nine for the Canaries who improved to 7-6 in the EPC and 12-7 overall. A year ago, Allen won just a pair of games going 2-20.
“What coach (Darnell) Braswell has done with that team and how he’s developed those boys and to see the year that they are having, a take my hat off to him,” said Brown. “He has done a great job. They play together, they’re poised, patient and they run their offense and share the rock.”
“They beat us fair and square tonight,” he added. “I thought we played harder tonight then the night before. It was Senior Night and I’ve been proud of my boys all year. It’s not been the year that we wanted, but the one thing I can say for the most part is that every game we fought and even though we wanted to leave a legacy of winning, the boys have left a legacy of grit and fight.”
Emmaus was led in scoring by senior Jack Csensits who scored a team-high 20 points. Classmates Owen Hafner and Mike Rooney added 13 and nine points, respectively. The Hornets played without sophomores Matt Rooney (foot injury) and Jake Ross (sickness).
Csensits, Rooney, Hafner along with Chase Whitesell, Matt Deschenes, Tyler Nunez, Ethan Dublin and Gabe Kabba were all honored with their parents before the game.
Just 24 hours earlier, playing at home against Southern Lehigh 24 hours earlier, the visitors outscored the Hornets 43-28 in the second half as they upset Emmaus 70-59.
Solehi got a game-high 24 points from junior Joe Plessl, classmates Michael Fry and Wyatt Adams added 16 and 12 points, respectively for the Spartans who defeated Emmaus for the first time since 2019-20 (46-41).
For Emmaus, Hafner scored a team-high 18 points while sophomore Lucas Stephan came off the bench to add a career-high 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Mike Rooney also finished in double figures with 11.
The two teams combined for 17 3-pointers in the contest — Emmaus (9) and Solehi (8).
Emmaus will return to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. as they travel to Dieruff. The Hornets will look for the season sweep after defeating the Huskies 54-28.
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Allen 74, Emmaus 52 (Friday)
All – Keith Jackson 7 2-5 16, Tiheed Wise 6 3-3 18, Xayvon Wimberly 9 0-0 21, Emmanuel Polanco 4 0-0 9, Chris Alejandro 0. Subs: Jaylen Walker 2 1-2 6, Obed Lockhart 1 0-0 2, Nazeer Champan 1 0-0 2, Alex Baez 0, Zion Stokes 0, Josh Reyes 0, Dom Cerda 0 0-2 0. Totals: FG 30, FT 6-12, 3s (8 – Wise 3, Wimberly 3, Walker, Polanco)
Em – Chase Whitesell 1 2-2 5, Jack Csensits 10 0-4 20, Owen Hafner 6 0-0 13, Mike Rooney 3 0-0 9, Matt Deschenes 1 1-2 3. Subs: Tyler Nunez 0, Ethan Dublin 0, Robert Edwards 0 0-2 0, Lucas Stephan 0, Tim Toles 0, Cole Stuchko 0, Mitch Pisarcik 0. Totals: FG 21, FT 3-10, 3s (5 – Mike Rooney 3, Whitesell, Hafner, Whitesell)
All – 26-18-14-16 – 74
Em – 16-15-9-12 – 52
Solehi 70, Emmaus 59 (Thurs)
Sol – Gabe Ruggeri 2 3-4 7, Joe Plessl 7 6-6 24, Sean McMenamy 2 0-0 4, Fry 5 4-11 16, Adams 2 7-9 12. Subs: Cole Mack 0, Sean Brogan 0, Morgan Capuano 0, Frank Boensch 2 0-0 4. Totals: FG 21, FT 20-30, 3s (8 – Plessl 4, Fry 2, Capuano, Adams)
Em – Chase Whitesell 1 0-0 3, Jack Csensits 3 1-2 7, Owen Hafner 7 3-6 18, Mike Rooney 4 0-0 11, Matt Deschenes 2 0-0 4, Matt Rooney 0, Lucas Stephan 5 0-0 14, Ethan Dublin 0, Tyler Nunez 0, Robert Edwards 2, Mitch Pisarcik 0. Totals: FG 23, FT 4-8, 3s (9 – Stephen 4, Mike Rooney 3, Whitesell, Hafner)
Sol – 14-13-19-24 – 70
Em – 17-14-13-15 – 59