Facing a Whitehall team for the third time this season, Emmaus head coach Steve Yoder certainly knew his team would get the Zephyrs best shot last night in the opening round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs at home at ‘The Hive.’
And they certainly did.
But despite that, the Hornets still found a way to earn their third victory over the Zephyrs.
Behind a 22-point effort from their leading scorer senior Will Barber, third-seeded Emmaus was able to survive a determined and gritty Whitehall squad, the No.6 seed, to earn a hard-fought 58-55 victory.
The win sends Emmaus (18-5) back to the semifinals at the PPL Center in downtown Allentown on Monday night at 6 p.m. where they will face Pocono Mountain West, the No.2 seed, which routed seventh-seeded Northampton, 52-31. The game will be broadcasted LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network’s YouTube channel with pregame coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m.
Top-seeded Parkland, which survived an upset bid from eighth-seeded Nazareth 38-35, will face fourth-seeded Liberty, a 50-38 winner over fifth-seeded Central Catholic, in the nightcap at 8 p.m. The Vikings were the defending champs.
Emmaus had as much as an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, but turnovers and poor free throw shooting by the Hornets (5-for-13 in the quarter) nearly cost them the victory.
Whitehall had an opportunity in the waning seconds to tie the game, but both three-point attempts fell short and the Hornets were able to celebrate the win.
Senior Jametric Harris, who was held to just four points in the first half, sparked Emmaus after halftime as he scored 11 of his 15 points in the third quarter to open up a nine-point lead (43-34) heading into the final eight minutes.
Junior Jack Csensits also shined in the win scoring all nine of his points in the second half.
Whitehall (15-8) was led by junior AJ Hines who scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half. Senior Luke Keppel also finished in double figures adding 14 — 11 after halftime. Like Emmaus, the Zephyrs were also hurt by poor free-throw shooting finishing just 4 of 11 (36 percent.)
Both teams combined for 12 3-pointers in the game — Emmaus (7) and Whitehall (5).
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Emmaus 58, Whitehall 55
Wh – Luke Keppel 6 0-1 14, Talon Dogmanits 2 0-1 4, Ethan Ringenberger 1 0-0 3, Gavin Roberts 3 0-2 6, AJ Hines 7 4-7 19, Sebastian Orochena 1 0-0 2, Seth Hoderewski 3 0-0 7. Totals: FG 23, FT 4-11, 3s (5) – Keppel 2, Ringenberger, Hoderewski, Hines.
Em – Teague McCourt 2 1-2 6, Jack Csensits 3 1-2 9, Jametric Harris 5 4-9 15, Will Barber 9 1-2 22, Jack Curley-Katrishen 1 0-0 2, Rafael Terrero 1 2-2 4, Owen Hafner 0, Mike Rooney 0, Matt Volquez 0, Aidan Santos 0. Totals: FG 21, FT 9-17, 3s (7) – Barber 3, Csensits 2, McCourt, Harris
Wh – 8-12-14-21 – 55
Em – 16-5-22-15 – 58