What a difference two weeks made for the Emmaus boys basketball program.

On Friday, February 10, the Hornets were riding a wave of emotions. They were the top seed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament, going a league-best 15-1, and their star senior player David Kachelries was within striking distance of a school record. But all of that buzz and potential celebration came to a screeching halt with a disappointing home loss to East Stroudsburg North in the first round of the league playoffs.

With more than two weeks to think about that night and prepare for the next game, Emmaus wasn’t going to see another team walk off the court victorious with their season on the line. Not only did the Green Hornets (20-4) beat Freedom, but Kachelries reached the milestone, becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer in a 63-57 victory Saturday night in the District 11 6A quarterfinals at Allen High School.

The win advances Emmaus to the semifinals against number two seed Pocono Mountain West (20-4), which is a rematch of a game won by Emmaus back in December. The Panthers beat Liberty in the quarterfinals.

“It was such a disappointing night the last time we played,” Kachelries said. “They (ES North) really came to play and gave it to us. I didn’t want to lose again. None of us wanted to lose. It was win or go home tonight, and we all wanted to play our hardest and keep the season moving along.”

Once again coming into the game, the players, staff, and fans knew what was on the line for Kachelries, and the team didn’t shy around wanting him to reach the honor.

It came in the second quarter with the assist coming from his twin brother.

With 5:27 to go in the second quarter, Matt Kachelries passed up court to a streaking David who went behind his back and finished with a reverse layup for point 1747, passing Roy Stauffer, a 1969 graduate. David finished with a game-high 28 points.

“It’s quite an honor, quite an accomplishment,” Kachelries said. “I’m really excited and honored. I was glad that Matt made the pass because he is great at getting me the ball. I wouldn’t have been able to get the record without him or the rest of my team.”

Head coach Steve Yoder has watched him grow from his freshman year as a starter to the go-to guy as a senior.

“I don’t think we as a staff are going to be able to put in perspective what this whole entire senior group has done for the program, but to break a record that’s been there almost 50 years, it tells you about the kind of player he is,” Yoder said. “More importantly, he’s a great kid. He’s meant a lot, to say the least.”

Coming into the game needing 13 points to break the record, Kachelries tallied 11 in the first quarter and Emmaus led 22-14 after one. The Hornets had their biggest lead of the game midway through the second quarter at 29-16, but the Patriots (12-11 overall) went on an 11-0 run to climb to within two points, 29-27 within the first minute of the third quarter.

With the score tied at 35-35 midway through the third, the Green Hornets went on a 10-2 burst that put them up 45-37 to start the fourth quarter. Eric Cichocki had two 3-pointers in the quarter.

“They did a good job defensively on us all game,” said Kachelries. “They had a good game plan coming in. We tried to tough it out and get stops on defense, and that’s what we did. We played as hard as we could and got the job done.”

Matt Kachelries added 11 points for Emmaus, while Cichocki tallied nine and Josh Artis had six.

Emmaus will play in Wednesday’s semifinals and Saturday night against Allen or Parkland in either the championship game or the consolation game. The Hornets also clinched a berth into the state tournament with Saturday’s win. The boys Class 6A state tournament begins March 11.