Sophomore Trey Rolle wasn’t even expecting to play on varsity, let alone start his first career game last Friday night before showing up to the locker room.

But the young Trojan wiped away any jitters early on and hit what could turn out to be the biggest shot of his career, nailing a three-pointer as time expired to give Parkland an important 56-53 victory over Central Catholic in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference action at Parkland High School.

“At first I didn’t know what to think or how to act,” said Rolle, who got the start because of an injury to one of Parkland’s starters. “I didn’t know I was starting until we went into the locker room right before the game. I was definitely nervous leading up to tip-off, but after my first shot I became comfortable from there.”

Parkland led for a majority of the first half and for a better part of the game. It was back-and-forth in the third quarter and then in the fourth the Trojans held leads that did not exceed four.

With the score tied 52-52 with under one minute to go, each team went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, with the Vikings (3-1, 1-1) going on top by one, then the Trojans tying it up at 53-all.

After a defensive stop by Parkland gave it the ball back with time on the clock and a chance to win, head coach Andy Stephens designed a play for what he had initially hoped would go to their number one option.

“The play was initially drawn up for our shooter Jake Melady,” Rolle said. “Coach [Stephens] said if he doesn’t get a good look to just keep swinging the ball until someone does. I got it and just found a seam up top and was able to hit the shot.”

Rolle knew his teammates coming in to his first action at the highest level, as he played with them in the summer league and summer tournaments. So there was a comfort level there.

It showed as the Trojans gracefully moved the ball around the court in a motion-set offense until Rolle collected it towards the top of the key. With the clock winding down and a defender’s hand in his face, Rolle released the shot that may have cemented his permanent spot in the varsity lineup.

After dropping two of its first three games to open up the 2018-19 campaign, Parkland can feel good after getting this one.

“It was a big win for us and our confidence moving forward,” said Rolle. “We started a little bit slow to the season with a couple losses early on in our opening tournament and to Emmaus. It’s been a tough schedule but winning a game like this will give us some momentum to push ahead.”

Melady had 10 points in the win over Central Catholic, while teammate Gabe Khalife tallied 11 points and Nick Rappa had 9.

Parkland (3-3 overall, 1-2 EPC) defeated Phillipsburg 63-62 at the buzzer just two days the win over Central, but fell to Northampton on Tuesday.

Parkland hosts Whitehall Friday night.