The Emmaus boys basketball team may have been looking past an Easton team that came into last week’s game at 9-7 overall, 6-5 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and in fourth place in the Steel Division. The Red Rovers were also coming off a loss to Dieruff (5-12, 3-9) just three nights earlier.

Trailing at halftime, and for most of the second half, the Hornets stepped up the pressure on the defensive end and converted from the free-throw line to go ahead in the final minutes and hold on for a 56-53 victory last Friday night at Emmaus High School.

The win kept Emmaus tied atop of the Skyline Division with Whitehall (15-3, 11-1), which they defeated earlier in the season 77-61.

“The fact that [Easton] lost to Dieruff on Tuesday, we knew they would be really hungry,” said Emmaus junior forward Josh Artis. “They really wanted this game, and it would be like a steal for them if they beat us at home. We knew they were going to come ready to play tonight.”

Easton was ready to play, and it showed on the offensive end. They connected for seven three-pointers over the course of the game, and had a couple of highlight dunks off rebounds by Mohammad Dumbuya. Dumbuya (10 points) was one of three Rovers in double figures, along with Ryan Boylan (12) and leading scorer Arnel Lewis (14).

The Hornets (14-3, 11-1) trailed 30-25 at halftime and were searching for answers on how to slow down the Easton offense.

Emmaus head coach Steve Yoder switched to a 1-3-1 half-court zone. defense The change paid dividends with Artis at the top making it hard for the Rovers guards to pass.

“We’ve ran it before this season, but not a whole lot,” said Artis. “We have been practicing it a lot lately. We’ve gotten away from it, but if it’s run successfully it can help us. We watched their film, and they haven’t done well against that type of zone, so it worked for us tonight.

“We just had to communicate better as a team. When we did that on the defensive end, we were able to make some stops and create turnovers. When we talk to each other on defense, we play a lot better.”

Easton led by as much as six early in the third quarter, but from that point, Emmaus outscored the Rovers 13-5 to end the quarter leading 39-37.

Artis was also a part of a momentum-swinging play that fans inside the gymnasium will never forget.

A loose ball on the Easton end of the court was tipped up by a diving Eric Cichocki to David Kachelries. Kachelries, who almost lost control, flipped the ball up between his legs like a center in football to Artis for a two-handed slam dunk. The play brought nearly the entire capacity to its feet. It was featured on ESPN’s top plays that day.

“It was a really big play for us,” Artis. “It got us going and got the crowd into it more. It’s a play that you never really see. Everyone was hustling and diving on the floor, and David made a great pass to me. It was a big moment in the game.”

In the fourth, David and Matt Kachelries combined for 13 points, and the Green Hornets went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line to finish off the win.

Emmaus also had three players in double figures, led by David Kachelries (18 points, 8 assists). Matt Kachelries had 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and Zach Sabol finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

David Kachelries also jumped Mike Hallman for second all-time in the school’s scoring list with 1,561 points. Hallman was in attendance to see the feat. Roy Stauffer is at the top with 1,746 career points.

The Green Hornets have three games this week. They are away to Northampton Tuesday, at Central Catholic on Friday, and home to Pottstown in a nonconference game Saturday afternoon.