The regular season did not end the way the Emmaus boys basketball team had hoped it would. Needing to beat Whitehall last Wednesday night in the season finale to clinch a first-round home game in the opening round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament, the Green Hornets fell to the Zephyrs in overtime and dropped from the number three seed to the fifth seed.

That loss did not seem to sit well, as the Hornets bounced back three days later to take down fourth seeded Stroudsburg 53-43 last Friday night at Stroudsburg High School.

“I told the guys before the game that we can only focus on the things that we can control,” said Emmaus head coach Steve Yoder. “The kids put the Whitehall loss behind them and got a nice win. Stroudsburg was a hot basketball team. They won 14 games this year.”

The win also snapped a two-game losing streak for Emmaus (17-6 overall). It was also the second time this season that the Green Hornets have defeated Stroudsburg on their home court. They won 71-55 in the first meeting on December 15.

Emmaus did not start well in its first postseason game of 2016. With the two recent losses still in the back of their minds, shots weren’t falling and the Hornets fell behind the Mountaineers 23-20 at halftime.

“We came out flat,” said Yoder. “It may have been the Whitehall game or the long bus ride, but we don’t like to make excuses. We just decided to switch up some things to start the third quarter, and that really sparked us.”

Yoder went small in the second half, playing four guards. With the usual tandem of seniors Joey Polczynski and Jacob Scarnulis down low, Yoder switched to a four-guard lineup, bringing in Jacob Feiertag, who missed most of the year with an injury, and the senior helped spark the offense.

“It was great to have Jake back,” Yoder said. “He hit some shots for us (six points) and helped out defensively. We went to a full-court man pressure and it helped us climb back in the game.”

Emmaus went on a 10-0 run towards the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter to put themselves in control. They outscored the Mounties 33-20 in the second half.

Junior David Kachelries helped the Green Hornets offense, scoring 12 of his team-high 14 points in the second half as his team built as much as a 10-point lead (42-32) early in the fourth quarter.

Matt Kachelries, Scarnulis and Brandon Rapose each scored eight points in the win, snapping a three-game win streak for Stroudsburg, which had also won 10 of its last 13 games.

“Brandon and [Scarnulis] gave us some big minutes and contributions,” said Yoder. “I’m proud of the boys. There was no pouting because some of them went to the bench. It was a guard-oriented matchup. They knew their roles in this one and got the job done.”

David Kachelries was named to the All-EPC First Team, and Matt Kachelries was named to the Third Team.

“It’s great for them,” Yoder added. “We focus on the we part of team, but we still celebrate the individual performances. I’m excited for them. David’s been great for us all year, and Matt had to deal with that injury last year and he has stepped up for us big time this year.”

Emmaus advanced to a semifinal against number one seed Parkland, which was originally schedule for Tuesday night at Liberty. That game was postponed to Wednesday and moved to Liberty High School.

It is the third meeting this year between the rivals with Parkland having won both of the first two games by double digits.