In his team’s opening game of the season last night, Emmaus first year head coach Jerald Brown wanted his squad to come out of the locker room and ‘dictate tempo’ and ‘come out swinging’ playing the host school Wilkes-Barre in a hostile environment on their home floor.
That never happened, as the Hornets struggled from the opening whistle falling behind by as much as a 17-2 deficit in the first quarter.
Even into the second half, Emmaus still was unable to come up with stops on defense end, and a comeback seemed highly unlikely with a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter staring them in the face.
But credit to Brown and a Hornet lineup featuring a lot of new faces for the resiliency they showed late in the game as they nearly pulled off an improbable rally.
Trailing by 13 points entering the fourth quarter, Emmaus was able to tie the game and then had a chance to win it in the waning seconds, but sophomore Matt Rooney’s desperation 3-pointer hit off the back of the rim and the Wolfpack were able to escape with a 63-61 victory.
The Hornets, who captured the championship of the tournament a year ago, outscored the hosts 20-9 in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 61-all on senior Mike Rooney’s four-point play on a three-pointer and an ensuing free-throw.
But the Wolfpack were able to withstand the comeback as they converted some late free-throws to pull out the victory.
With the win, Wilkes-Barre advances to today’s championship game at 2:30 p.m. to take on Muhlenberg, which defeated Holy Redeemer 65-53 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Emmaus, meanwhile, drops into the consolation game at 1 p.m. vs Holy Redeemer.
In the loss, senior Jack Csensits was the only player to reach double figures for the Hornets finishing with a career-high 18 points, 16 of which came after halftime. Csensits had to leave the game in the waning seconds with apparent cramping in his leg.
Senior Owen Hafner added nine points, while classmates Chase Whitesell and Rooney each added seven for the Hornets who dropped to 0-1.
Wilkes-Barre (1-0) was led in scoring by junior Mike Keating who had a game-high 19 points. Classmate David Jannuzzi Jr added 16.
Both teams struggled from the free-throw line with Emmaus shooting just 43 percent (6-14), compared to Wilkes Barre at 55 percent (10-18).
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Wilkes Barre 63, Emmaus 61
Emmaus – Jack Csensits 8 0-0 18, Chase Whitesell 2 2-2 7, Tyler Nunez 1 0-0 3, Mike Rooney 2 1-1 7, Owen Hafner 4 1-6 9, Matt Rooney 1 0-0 3, Jake Ross 2 2-4 6, Matt Deschenes 2 0-0 4, Gabe Kabba 2 0-1 4, Lucas Stephan 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 17, FT 6-14, 3s (7) – Csensits 2, Mike Rooney 2, Whitesell 1, Nunez 1, Matt Rooney 1)
WB – Nahsiem Ford 3 0-0 6, Quaran Brooks 4 0-2 8, David Jannuzzi 5 4-6 16, Mike Keating 8 2-2 19, Jacob Johnson 2 0-0 6, Jordany Rodriguez 1 1-2 3, Kayden Diggs 0 0-0 0, Achilles Fuentes 0 2-4 2, Reylie Ramirez 1 0-0 2, Jordan Valentin 0 1-2 1. Totals: FG 24, FT 10-18, 3s (5 – Jannuzzi 2, Johnson 2, Keating)
Emmaus – 6-11-24-20 – 61
WB – 19-8-27-9 – 63