As the third-place team out of District 11, Emmaus entered Saturday’s game against District 12 runner-up Martin Luther King High School as an underdog.

Despite the Cougars’ 15-12 overall record, their reputation preceded them as they were a state semifinalist last year and play in one of the state’s strongest areas for high school basketball.

But the Hornets did not play like underdogs Saturday at Abraham Lincoln High School in Philadelphia. They hung with King through the first half, weathered a tough stretch in the third quarter and closed out a 74-63 win in the fourth period to advance to the second round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs.

“This is probably the most excited I’ve been as a head coach ever,” said Emmaus’ Steve Yoder. “Even though we didn’t win a medal, to come down here and play a team that went to the state finals last year and basically beat them on their home turf is special.”

The Hornets played one of their best games of the season when they needed to most. They limited mistakes, played solid defense and got a huge offensive night out of their team leader.

David Kachelries poured in 37 points against the Cougars, a career high for the junior who cleared the 1,000-point milestone this year.

“I have the best point guard in the state of Pennsylvania on my team,” said Yoder. “He’s the best around and he controls the tempo. His brother is pretty darn special too. That gives us a 1-2 combo of ball handlers.”

Kachelries scored 11 of the season’s most important points during a fourth quarter that started with the two teams knotted at 47-47. He started an 8-2 run with a steal and a basket 15 seconds into the fourth quarter. He ended the run when he assisted on a Joey Polczynski basket that made the score 55-49 with 4:39 left in the game. King never got closer than four points the rest of the way. The Hornets extended their lead over the final minutes of the game.

“We knew they were pressing so we put in our press break and it really opened up for us,” Kachelries said. “We were getting passes for lay ups.”

He had six assists (three in the fourth quarter) to go along with his game-high scoring total.

Despite the unbalanced scoring totals, it was still a team win for the Emmaus.

Forward David Polczysnki chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Matt Kachelries had 13 points.

“David had a quiet 37,” Polczysnki said with a grin. “It’s a great team win and we’re just really excited.

“David’s our best player and everyone knows that. He does a lot for our team. Everyone just played really well. Our bigs rebounded. Guards played really well. Overall it was one of the best games we played all year.”

The Hornets didn’t buy into the underdog role. They came out loose and played their best. They didn’t commit a turnover in the first 11 minutes of the game. While King splashed in four three pointers in the first quarter, the Hornet matched them basket for basket and finished the first period in a 16-16 tie.

“We had to keep our composure throughout the whole game,” said David Kachelries. “We had to follow our coach’s game plan. It was fun playing without turning the ball over.”

Both teams tried to pull away in the second quarter, but neither could manage more than a three-point lead before they went to halftime with King ahead 29-28.

The Cougars started to pull away in the third quarter, building a 42-36 lead with under four minutes left in the period, the largest lead of the game up to that point.

Yoder called a time out and momentum changed after that.

“We were in a really bad spot,” said Yoder. “Fortunately we scored on the next possession and got it back to four. If it went to eight or 10, we would have really been in a tough spot. We went down and scored and then we just picked up our defense a little bit and we were in a good spot.”

David Kachelries scored seven of the next eight points for Emmaus and the teams headed into the fourth quarter at 47-47.

“We didn’t get here by dumb luck,” said Polczytnski. “We’re a good team. We know we’re a good team so we try to stay confident. Teams go on runs. We just kept the energy up and we believed.”

Emmaus took over in the fourth quarter as the Cougars seemed to get more frustrated as the Hornets lead grew and the clock wound down.

“Our fourth quarter was phenomenal,” said Yoder. “Once we got the lead I told the boys it just came down to forcing them to get one and done.

“This has been an evolution. It’s something we have been preparing for several years. When these guys were freshmen and sophomores I brought them down to the Philly Constitution League in spring. We played a national nonleague schedule last year. I might have bitten off a little more than we could chew last year. I think we’re seeing the impact of playing good teams. We’re not scared of anybody.”

Emmaus (20-8) will be the underdog again Wednesday when it takes on District 3 champ Reading (26-3). That game is slated for Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Pottsville’s Martz Hall.