RECAP >> Facing a Whitehall team fighting for its playoff lives, Emmaus jumped out to an early lead on the road against the Zephyrs on Friday and never let up as the Hornets pulled away for a 46-35 victory.
“We talked in the locker room before the game about basically the playoffs have started for us because we are still trying to get into the EPC Tournament,” said Emmaus head coach Steve Yoder following the win. “We are in districts, but we’re trying to position ourselves so we really approached this game as a playoff game because we knew it would be an emotional night for Whitehall. They were also trying to stay alive and it was their Hall of Fame night.”
None of that seemed to matter to Hornets who were looking to bounce back following a disappointing 45-33 loss to Northampton just three days earlier.
Junior Dylan Darville scored a game-high 12 points and senior Jadis Brevitt and sophomore Wilson Charlot each played big roles after halftime as Emmaus swept the season series with Whitehall in improving to 9-4 in the EPC and 15-4 overall.
“I was reallly pleased with the effort and execution tonight,” said Yoder. “We had a lot of different players step up.”
Darville was the catalyst in the first half for the Hornets as he scored all 12 of his points in helping his team build a nine-point lead (24-15) at intermission.
“I talked to him in practice the last two days about getting to the rim,” said Yoder. “He’s got such a silky smoothness to him off the bounce and he pulls up a lot and shoots jumpers, which he makes and that needs to be part of his game, but he doesn’t need to do that until defenses stop him. I told him before the game that I wanted him to live around the rim and he did. He had that dunk in the second quarter and he did everything he always does on defense.”
Charlot, who had missed two recent games due to illness and had been held scoreless in four of the last six, came off the bench and provided a spark as he scored all his points from the free-throw line (7 of 8) and grabbed a number of rebounds, while Brevitt added all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.
“I knew Wilson was coming. I could see it in practice,” said Yoder of his 6-4 junior. “He brings a lot of energy and he was huge for us tonight.
“And with Jadis I said to him when the fourth quarter started ‘we haven’t heard from you yet, but I know you’re a fourth quarter guy.'”
“That’s the good part of our team. Dylan was great in the first half but we have other players when defenses adjust that can step up for us.”
Whitehall, needed to win its last four games to reach the post-season, was led in scoring by freshman AJ Hines who had a team-high 10 points. The Zephyrs dropped to 7-12 overall and 4-9 in the league.
Emmaus will return home this week for a pair of key EPC games as they host Allen on Tuesday and Parkland on Friday. Both games will be carried LIVE on www.easternpasportsnetwork.com beginning at 6:40 p.m. with the pregame show.
“We feel we have to have two (wins),” said Yoder of getting into the league playoffs. “One (win) would be really beneficial and maybe get us in, but two out of three should really put us in a good position.”
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Em – 10-14-7-15 – 46
Wh – 8-7-11-9 – 35
Em – Will Barber 3 2-2 9, Dylan Darville 5 2-2 12, Jadis Brevitt 1 5-6 7, Jayden Gallagher 1 1-2 3, Brydon Crawford 1 1-2 4, Ryan Diehl 0 0-0 0, Wilson Charlot 0 7-8 7, Ben Kieres 0 0-0 0, Ryan Santos 1 0-0 2, Chase Muckey 1 0-0 2, Jametric Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 13, FT 18-22, 3s (2 – Barber, Crawford)
Wh – AJ Hines 3 4-5 10, Luke Keppel 2 3-4 8, Alex Derkits 2 2-2 6, Ian Werner 1 0-0 2, Tommy Buskirk 2 1-2 5, Bryce Bashore 0 0-0 0, Damonte Foreman 0 0-2 0, Raymond Jackson 1 2-4 4. Totals: FG 11, FT 12-19, 3s (1 – Keppel)
EPC Standings (Top 8 playoffs):
PM West 12-1
CCHS 11-2
Parkland 11-2
Becahi 10-3
Northampton 9-4
EMMAUS 9-4
Nazareth 8-4
ES South 7-5
Allen 7-5
Liberty 6-7
Stroudsburg 5-8
Freedom 4-7
Whitehall 4-9
Pleasant Valley 3-9
Dieruff 4-11
ES North 2-11
PM East 2-12
Easton 1-11