Ethan Parvel wasn’t in an Emmaus uniform last season when the Hornets advanced to the District 11 Class 6A semifinals. Or when they qualified for the state playoffs in 2018.

He was, though, when the Hornets took the court on Saturday night in the East Penn Conference Championship. And in his first season with Emmaus after transferring from Whitehall, Parvel isn’t just stepping in as a role player for head coach Steve Yoder. He is becoming a true leader.

“It feels great to be a part of this team,” Parvel said. “I told them coming in that it felt good not to be the guy all of the time. But I had the ball in my hands on the last possession, and I found an opening and took it. It wasn’t just drawn up for me. That’s just how things worked out.”

Despite the heartbreaking loss to Bethlehem Catholic, Parvel hit countless big shots for the No. 2 seeded Hornets at Easton’s Shawnee Middle School gymnasium. None of his team-high 16 points were bigger than his last bucket.

With the Hornets down 44-42 with less than 20 seconds to play, Yoder drew up a play for Emmaus out of a timeout. The play wasn’t designed for Parvel, but the senior point guard found an opening and took his chance.

Parvel beat his man off the dribble and scooped in the game-tying layup over the outstretched hands of Bethlehem Catholic’s Ryan Young.

“It was just a basic set,” Parvel said. “Coach said it was basically down to just playing basketball now. And that’s what I did. I took my guy, found an opening and took a layup.”

The only problem is that there was still time left on the clock. Bethlehem Catholic’s Justin Paz took the Golden Hawks’ ensuing inbound pass the length of the court for a layup with 2.5 seconds to play, notching his second game-winner in three nights.

Emmaus had to go the length of the court after its final timeout, but Bethlehem Catholic sniffed out the deep pass. The Green Hornets’ potential game winning 3-pointer was well short.

“It was drawn up to go deep, but they kind of had it backed up,” Parvel said. “You just have to make a play when you have to make a play.”

Parvel hit a number of other big shots throughout the EPC championship game.

After starting the game 0-for-9 from the field, Emmaus slowly crept back into it. Parvel hit his first of three 3-pointers to open the second quarter, giving the Hornets their first lead at 11-9 just 1:05 into the frame.

His hot shooting transitioned into the third quarter. After being fouled on another shot from long range, Parvel hit all three free throws to give Emmaus its largest lead of the second half at 24-19.

Bethlehem Catholic took its largest lead of the game late in the third quarter on a field goal from Young, but Parvel played the role of savior once again. His 3-pointer to close the frame got Emmaus within 34-29 moments later.

“I’ve been working on my jump shot a lot lately,” Parvel said. “I have to shout out to the coaches for that. They’ve been really focusing on my jump shot. I felt good coming into the game, and throughout the game kept feeling good, so I kept putting it up.”

He then scored seven of Emmaus’ 20 points in the fourth quarter. His final 3-pointer kept the Hornets’ hopes alive, as his bucket with 47 seconds remaining made it a one-point game before setting up his game-tying bucket.

“I’ve been playing basketball with some of these guys through AAU,” Parvel said. “Obviously it’s tough going from school to school, but these guys made me feel really comfortable coming in.”

Parvel also led the Hornets against Allen in the EPC semifinals, scoring 16 points to push the Hornets into the final.

He’s hoping to next lead Emmaus to a championship after coming so close to one last week. This time it will be in the district tournament when the top-seeded Hornets open play on Saturday against either Liberty or Pocono Mountain West.