An overwhelming favorite to win the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship, Parkland entered this season with a clear understanding that it would get each team's best shot every time out.

But the Trojans embrace their status and have seemingly everything - size, quickness, balance, depth and experience - to succeed.

They also know how to win, as evidenced by back-to-back District 11 titles and a dominant performance in every tournament they entered throughout the summer.

After another impressive showing against Pleasant Valley on Tuesday night, Parkland appears to be well on its way of achieving those lofty preseason goals.

Buoyed by a lineup that presented significant matchup problems, the Trojans systematically executed their game plan en route to a convincing 78-46 win over the Bears.

"It's a huge advantage to be able to go out there with five guys that are over 6-3," said Pleasant Valley head coach Matt Gould. "You can't teach that. We have guys that are 5-7, 5-8.

"Their athleticism was just incredible. They can all shoot the ball and stretch the defense. We tried to pack it in a bit because we know they're big inside. But they can hurt you all over, inside and outside. They can all get up the floor. They really have it all."

Parkland (5-0, 4-0) took advantage of an impressive shooting display, draining nine three pointers, a barrage Trojans' coach Andy Stephens credited to his team's shot selection and unselfishness.

"We took quite a few, which is obviously going to happen if a team is playing a lot of zone," Stephens said. "But I thought we went inside pretty well in the first half where we started to get it to the short corner and pass out of there instead of just coming down and shooting it right away.

"I tell the kids all the time that we'll actually score more points the more we pass because I think our shot percentage will go up. So we want to share the ball, swing the ball."

The Trojans placed three players in double figures, with 6-6 junior Kyle Stout leading the way with a game-high 22 points.

Having to guard players such as Stout, Devante Cross (12 points) and Sam Ierio (18 points) simply proved to be too much for the Bears' (1-4, 0-4) defenders to manage.

"We didn't help ourselves, having two guys scrambling around chasing the ball at times," said Gould. "Sometimes we had three guys running out at shooters, which left the middle open for them. But they make the extra pass and they know the guys that can shoot."

Running the offense effectively is something Stout knows will help the team more than any number of points he can score.

"If you just jack up threes, you don't really get anywhere," he said. "You can live and die on that and you can lose very easily that way. We know we have to get our bigs involved too and that's when we're at our best."

Pleasant Valley brought the score to within 10 points at 28-18 early in the second quarter, but Parkland was able to outscore the Bears 19-6 the rest of the way to take a commanding 47-24 lead at halftime that essentially put the game out of reach.

Eric Marbury paced the Bears with 10 points, all of which came in the first half.

While undoubtedly pleased with the win, Stephens knows the season is still young, as is his talented group of players.

"Even though we played a whole summer together, it's still different than what we're doing now," the coach said. "I think that as a team and a coaching staff we need to be patient because I think it's going to take a little bit of time before we hit our stride.

"But after the first five games, I'm definitely satisfied and pleased with how we've been playing. But I know we can still get better."