For most of this high school boys basketball season, it’s been on the defensive end of the court where Emmaus has been able to shut down opponents and win a lot of games.
Known as one of the better defensive teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, the Hornets were allowing less than 50 points per game in 27 games.
Only once had they given up 60 or more, and on a rare occasion, 70+ which had happened only twice.
In all three of those instances, Emmaus came up on the short end on the scoreboard.
Unfortunately for the Hornets, it happened again and this time, it cost them the end to their season.
Facing Red Lion, the third place entry from District 3 on their home court in the opening round of the PIAA Class 6A State Tournament on Saturday afternoon, Emmaus struggled mightly to get stops in the second half of the game and the Lions took full advantage as they were able to pull away late for 78-65 win.
The Hornets, who were making their second consecutive appearance in states and seventh since the 2013-14 season, gave up a season-high 52 points in the second half after allowing just 26 through the first two quarters and trailing by just three at the break.
And that ultimately, was the difference in the game.
“In the third quarter I thought we were settling to much and we were shooting three’s and that’s not really our game,” said Steve Yoder, Emmaus’ 16th year head coach following the game. “Our game plan was to attack them in the paint and they went zone and that was a good call by them.
“We got down by eight to 10 points in the quarter and we fought back, but we should have done a better job as coaches and players to stick to the game plan. Credit to Red Lion because they’re a really good basketball team.”
They certainly were and they also had the distinct advantage of playing at home in front of their fans with a District 3 officiating crew working the game — fair or unfair.
What also helped the Lions cause was a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures and nearly a fifth as they posted the most points allowed by Emmaus all season.
Senior Joe Sedora, the team’s leading scorer who missed the early part of the season with a broken ankle, was a nightmare matchup for the Hornets as he scored game-high 27 points, 16 of which came in the second half.
“He’s really good, ” said Yoder of Sedora who was a York-Adams League 1st Team selection. “He’s one of the best individual players we played against this year. He can score, he’s a good passer and he trust his teammates.”
Besides Sedora, the Lions also got big efforts from senior Chris Williams who scored 15 points, freshman Isaiah Ogurcak’s 13 and junior Favian Rodriguez-Ruiz who came off the bench to score 12. Junior Tyler Good was just a point away from reaching double figures finishing with nine points.
For Emmaus, senior Jametric Harris was outstanding on both ends of the floor for the Hornets who won 20 games (20-8) for the second consecutive season. Harris scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the second half and on the defensive end, made Sedora work for his points.
Junior Jack Csensits, playing less than 100 percent due to an ankle injury, continued to shine late in the season as he added 14 points, while senior Will Barber, was held in check for most of the game and finished with just 11 points, eight below his average.
Emmaus played most of the game without their floor general, senior Teague McCourt, who was dealing with an injury suffered in last Saturday’s District XI third place game vs Stroudsburg and senior Jack Curley-Katrishen, away on a college visit.
The game marked the final one in the high school careers of a large senior class that included: Barber, Harris, McCourt, Matt Volquez, Aidan and Pacey Santos, Curley-Katrishen, Dan Rohlsen and Lawson Vasquez.
“Obviously it was emotional after the game in the locker room but I’m proud of this team,” said Yoder, who has hinted throughout the season that this was going to be his final year coaching at Emmaus. “They were sad afterwards, but you could still feel the pride.
“This team and these players just love competing and love getting after it whether it’s in practices or games. They love being with each other. This is a great senior class and we already miss them. It’s now the underclassmen’s team.”
For the most complete coverage of Emmaus sports, follow on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) and like Emmaus sports on Facebook.
Red Lion 78, Emmaus 65
Em – Will Barber 3 6-8 12, Jametric Harris 10 3-4 23, Matt Volquez 2 0-0 5, Jack Csensits 4 5-6 14, Rafael Terrero 1 0-2 2, Teague McCourt 0, Aidan Santos 1 0-0 3, Owen Hafner 1 1-2 3, Mike Rooney 1 0-0 3, Pacey Santos 0. FG 23, FT 15-22, 3s (3) – Volquez, Csensits, Aidan Santos
RL – Dakarai Dennis 0 2-2 2, Tyler Good 3 2-4 9, Chris Williams 4 5-5 15, Joe Sedora 11 2-6 27, Isaiah Ogurcak 5 1-4 13, Favian Rodriguez-Ruiz 3 6-8 12, Kade Shepherd 0. Totals: FG 26, FT 18-29, 3s (6) – Sedora 3, Good, Ogurcak 2
Em – 13-10-15-27 – 65
RL – 11-15-25-27 – 78