RECAP >> It’s not often in sports your team comes up on the short end of the scoreboard at the end of the night and a coach is happy, but that’s exactly how Emmaus boys basketball head coach Steve Yoder felt last night.
No, he wasn’t happy that his team dropped to 0-3 on the young season after falling to rival Parkland 61-49 in their Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opener on Tuesday night at Parkland High School.
But the Hornets 12th year head coach had plenty of positives to take away once his team left the locker room and made the short trek back down Cedar Crest Boulevard.
“It’s such a unique feeling for us as a coaching staff because we despise losing like every coach does, but there were just so many good things that happened tonight,” said a beaming Yoder.
“We’re such a young and inexperienced team, by far the most inexperienced team in the league and we made progress tonight.”
No argument there.
After dropping a pair of non-league games last week where they struggled offensively in scoring just 41 points to Southern Lehigh and 33 to Abington Heights, Emmaus certainly looked like a different team last night as they battled their arch-rival for two-and-a-half quarters and even leading by a 29-27 margin at the break after shooting 56 percent from the floor (9 of 16).
“There were some good individual performances tonight and our execution was much much better,” said Yoder. “There was a lot of good tonight.”
Junior Danny Bohman, the only player returning player with any varsity experience, had a monster night for the Hornets as he scored 13 points in each half and led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. Senior Jayden Walsh continues to be a bright spot and also had a solid effort with a career-best 15 points.
“Danny was great tonight,” said Yoder. “He got into foul trouble early in the game and had to sit but had he been out there for most of the game he probably would have wound up with 30. Jayden was a warrior out there and he’s playing his first varsity basketball.”
Yoder wasn’t surprised how his team played despite its offensive struggles in the first two games and facing a Parkland squad that enters this season with plenty of experience returning and championship hopes.
“I wasn’t surprised because we’ve been fortunate to beat Parkland a few times the past couple of seasons and we beat them in the summer,” he said. “Mentally for 16 and 17 year-old kids I figured they would come in here confident and feeling like they can compete with them and they did so I was not surprised.”
Parkland (1-0) had three players reach double figures in the game. Senior Jake Melady led the way with a team-high 16 points, while classmate Nick Rappa added 12 points and junior Trey Rolle 10, respectively for the Trojans who outscored Emmaus 34-20 after the half.
Emmaus will look to build upon last night’s effort when they return home on Thursday to host Northampton. Tip off is 7 p.m.
“I’m not into moral victories, but I really feel like we are going to play well in our next game and I’m excited about going to practice tomorrow,” said Yoder.
To keep up to date on the team throughout the season, like Emmaus boys basketball on facebook and follow @Emmaussports.com on twitter for continued updates.
To listen to a replay of last night’s game, visit www.pennsportsradio.com and click on the ‘archived games.’
Emmaus – Danny Bohman 8 6-7 26 , Ryan Todd 1 0-0 2, Jayden Walsh 3 6-6 15, Patrick Tulio 1 0-0 2, Mason Boyd 0 0-0 0, Jameel Sanders 1 0-0 2, Alec Ward 1 0-0 2, Meech Rogers 0 0-0 0, Jaden Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Shep Henseler 0 0-0 0, Jades Brevitt 0 0-0 0 . Totals: FG 15, FT 12-12, 3s – 7 (Bohman 4, Walsh 3)
Parkland – Trey Rolle 4 1-2 10, Jared Kucharczuk 3 0-0 8, Nick Rappa 4 4-4 12, Dylan Rhoads 1 2-5 3, Jake Melady 5 4-4 16, Ja Lon Perkins 3 1-2 7, JT Siggins 2 1-2 5, Vinny Gerbasio 0 0-0 0. Totals: FG 23, FT 11-18, 3s – 6 (Rolle, Kucharczuk 2, Melady 2, Siggins)
Emmaus – 15-14-8-12 – 49
Parkland – 16-11-16-18 – 61