RECAP — It was match-up of two teams that entered play with just one league loss and identical 9-2 overall records.
And it played out that way in the first half of Tuesday night’s game in Swiftwater as Emmaus and Pocono Mountain East battled with the Hornets holding just a slim one-point lead (25-24) at the break.
But the play in the first two quarters looked anything like two teams that led their respective divisions.
Emmaus, which was coming off its first league loss of the season Saturday in a 80-69 defeat to Bethlehem Catholic, was sloppy with the ball as they committed 13 turnovers (seven in the first quarter and six in the second), while Pocono Mountain East wasn’t much better with their eight turnovers and 36 percent shooting (10-for-28) from the floor.
So you would figure something had to give when the two teams stepped back on the floor in the second half.
And it did for the Hornets — they woke up in the second half.
“I told the boys at halftime that we had 13 turnovers and we gave up a lot of transition and we were still winning,” said Emmaus head coach Steve Yoder. “We felt ultimately that we could get the game back to where we wanted and we scored 51 points in the second half and we took away their transition and I thought that was the difference.”
Indeed it was.
It also helps when you have arguably the best big man in the area that Pocono Mountain East had now answer for.
Emmaus got back on its winning ways as they outscored the hosts 51-35 in the second half as senior Zach Sabol poured in a career-high 29 points in the Hornets 17-point win 76-59.
Sabol, whose previous career-high was 27, dominated the paint as he scored a 19 of his points in the second half and pulled down 17 rebounds. He led four Hornets in double figures as Emmaus improved to 6-1 in the EPC and 10-2 overall.
It was the second consecutive road game for the Hornets and a win they’ll take after getting off to a slow start against the Cardinals.
“I’ve been pretty calm the whole year with this team and I’ve been sitting a lot on the bench and haven’t really yelled in the locker room,” said Yoder. “Tonight I lit them up a little bit at halftime and they deserved it, but the best part was they owned it. They were great in the second half. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Senior Ethan Parvel added 15 points in the win and classmate Mark Swedberg scored all 10 of his points in the second half for the Hornets who missed just six shots (19 of 25) in the second half.
Sophomore Danny Bohman continues to be a bright as he had his second straight 11-point game of the season.
“I was really proud of Danny and people forget he’s only a sophomore,” said Yoder. “Nothing bothers the kid. Danny is a big big part of our success.”
PM East (5-2 EPC, 9-3 overall) was led in scoring by senior guard Winston Edwards who scored 14 of his team-high 22 points in the first half. Teammate senior Tristan Hillman added 17.
The Hornets will return home on Friday with an opportunity to clinch a District XI berth when they host Liberty at 7 p.m.
Like Emmaus boys basketball on facebook, follow @Emmaussports on twitter for continued updates on the team throughout the season.
Emmaus – Byrce Diehl 2-8 1-1 5, Ethan Parvel 6-10 1-2 15, Mark Swedberg 4-7 2-2 10, Danny Bohman 4-6 0-0 11, Zach Sabol 13 3-4 29. Subs: Josh Moyer 0-0 0-0 0, Devon Boyko 0-2 2-2 2, Mason Boyd 0-0 0-0 0, Stefan Rollins 0-0 0-0 0, Patrick Hunter 0-0 0-0 0, Demetrius Stephanides 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Todd 1-1 2-2 4. Totals: FG 29-48, FT 11-13, 3s (5 – Parvel 2, Bohman 3)
PM East – Castro 3-10 1-2 7, Hillman 6-12 2-2 17, Edwards 9-19 0-0 22, Tahir Thompson 0-3 0-0 0, Tashad Thompson 3-7 0-0 6. Subs: Dervisevic 1-5 0-0 2, Vargas 1-1 0-0 3, Jackson 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 23, FT 5-6, 3s (8 – Hillman 3, Edwards 4, Vargas)
Em – 17 – 8 – 25 – 26 – 76
PM – 14 – 10 – 16 – 19 – 59