The Emmaus boys’ basketball team is in the midst of its final week of the Stellar Summer Basketball League. But through 10 games, the Hornets have rarely been at full strength on the court. The same could be said for most other teams in the league.

The Hornets were once again dealt with that obstacle during last week’s slate of games, including a rival showdown with Parkland on Wednesday. Without star point guard David Kachelries, Emmaus (6-4) dropped a 65-37 decision against the Trojans at Parkland High School.

With other obligations in the summer such as AAU hoops, basketball camps and college visits, David Kachelries was missing against Wilson West Lawn the following day. The Hornets, however, were able to get back on the winning track with a 34-24 victory.

“I thought our effort was there, but we just couldn’t catch a break,” Hornet coach Eric Farkas said. “Parkland hit shots. Parkland was the quicker one to the ball all of the time. Our kids played hard, but we just couldn’t get shots to fall and couldn’t get our defensive stops. That was the telltale of the game.”

Parkland jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead, and a step-back jumper from Sam Iorio pushed that advantage to 32-10 before halftime.

Iorio, who scored 15 points for the Trojans, helped Parkland grow a 21-point halftime lead to 61-31 late.

Matt Kachelries led all scorers with 20 points, 16 of which came in the second half. He was the only Hornet on the court that saw meaningful varsity minutes this past winter season. Not only did he carry Emmaus’ scoring load, but he’s been leading as an example to the rest of this inexperienced group.

“He’s shown kids what it takes to play at the varsity level,” Farkas said. “He’s showed that when his brother isn’t there, he could take a big role on. He’s going to step up and likes to be in the spotlight, too.”

It’s not just David Kachelries’ absence that has made this summer a bit tough to judge at times for the Hornets. Other than the Kachelries brothers, Eric Cichocki is the only other returning Hornet that played significant minutes last year. But he’s been occupied with baseball this summer and has yet to suit up on a basketball court.

Josh Artis (seven points against Parkland) and Zach Sabol (two points) figure to play much bigger roles in 2017, a journey that is beginning this summer. But Artis saw very limited court action last winter, and Sabol missed the entire season with a broken foot.

“The good thing about it is that when David isn’t there, all of the other kids are getting opportunities to step up and show a little bit what they have this summer against good competition,” Farkas said.

Daryn Lewis, as well as incoming sophomores Cameron Brooks and Bryce Diehl, figure to be three main pieces in helping the Kachelries brothers run the offense in the Hornets’ backcourt.

With two games this week, the Hornets are gearing up for one last push in trying to qualify for the Stellar postseason. With three games left they are in seventh place. The top six teams will make the summer league playoffs in the Big School Division, which will be played after the annual summer tournaments.

It’s all setting up an eventful month that will see Emmaus play in both the SportsFest and Stellar “Catch A Rising Star” tournaments in July before possibly entering the Stellar League playoffs.