RECAP – A poor third quarter and turnovers proved costly on Monday night as Emmaus saw its seven-game win streak snapped as Nazareth rallied for a 66-57 win.
The Hornets were outscored 23-10 in the third quarter and 39-21 in the second half and were hurt by 22 turnovers as they dropped to 12-3 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and 17-4 overall.
“I said in the locker room that the first four minutes of the third quarter were going to be critical because they are kinda in desperation mode wanting to get into the EPC Tournament and improve their position in districts,” said Emmaus head coach Steve Yoder. “They (Nazareth) were looking for that signature win and they got it tonight.”
“I was proud of our kids effort, but we didn’t execute. We were right there at the end of the game. We had it tied with two or three minutes left. What ultimately hurt us tonight were the turnovers with 22 of them.”
Nazareth held Emmaus scoreless late in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Hornets 9-0 after the game was tied at 57-all.
The two teams split the season series with each winning on their home floor. Both matchups were eerily similar with the Blue Eagles holding a nine-point lead in the first meeting at Emmaus before watching the Hornets rally for a 64-60 win, and tonight’s contest were Nazareth trailed by nine at the half then put together a big second half for a much-needed victory.
Senior Zach Sabol led Emmaus with a game-high 21 points but only four after halftime. Sabol now has totaled 972 points in his career, moving with 28 of reaching 1,000.
Fellow senior Mark Swedberg added 13 points – nine coming in the second half – and fellow senior Cameron Brooks came off the bench and provided a spark with 10 points.
Nazareth, needing a win to increase its chances of reaching the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs, won for the fourth time in its last five games and improved to 10-5 in the EPC and 15-6 overall.
The Blue Eagles had a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures. Seniors Keynon Sheard and junior Zach Umar each scored a team-high 15 points, senior Noah Briggs had three 3-pointers and finished with 13, while fellow senior Nick Viva added 11 points, all coming in the first half. Nazareth had eight 3-pointers in the game, six after halftime.
Emmaus will look to regroup and get back on track on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as they travel to Whitehall to take on the Zephyrs in the regular-season finale.
“The kids know Whitehall always plays tough,” said Yoder. “It doesn’t matter if they are 1-20. We are going to get their ‘A’ game and their best effort. We were tied with them in the third quarter in their first meeting (a 66-40 Emmaus win). We respect the heck out of Whitehall, but we’ll be ready to play.”
Emmaus – Bryce Diehl 1 1-2 3, Zach Sabol 9 3-6 21, Mark Swedberg 4 3-3 13, Ethan Parvel 3 0-0 8, Devon Boyko 1 0-0 2. Subs. Danny Bohman 0 0-0 0, Cam Brooks 3 2-2 10, Mason Boyd 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 21, FT 9-13, 3s 6 (Swedberg 2, Parvel 2, Brooks 2)
Nazareth – Anthony Harris 2 0-0 5, Stephon Sheard 1 5-8 7, Zach Umar 4 4-4 15, Nick Viva 5 1-2 11, Noah Briggs 5 0-0 13. Subs: Kenyon Sheard 6 1-1 15. Trent Federico 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 23, FT 11-15, 3s (8 – Umar 2, Briggs 3, Kenyon Sheard 2, Harris)
Em – 17 – 19 – 10 – 11 – 57
Naz – 16 – 11 – 23 – 16 – 66