Last week the Parkland boys basketball team had arguably one of its best victories, rallying from down double-digits in the first half to take down Easton last Friday night.

The win was important, not only because it was a league victory, but the Red Rovers were at the top of their division, so it gave the Trojans a ton of confidence.

They used that added confidence in their next game as Parkland started fast and kept it moving forward in defeating rival Emmaus 66-47 last Tuesday night in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Skyline Division action at Emmaus High School.

“I think it definitely helped us tonight,” said senior Dylan Rhoads. “That was a huge win for us as a team because we had to come together being down by so much. And to be able to fight back and win that game on our home court was huge momentum. You could see after that game, and a good night at practice (Monday), we were rolling and had everything clicking.”

The Trojans (12-5 overall, 9-3 EPC) opened up a double-digit lead just minutes into the game with the Green Hornets (5-12, 4-8), and led 21-7 after the opening quarter. Parkland nearly doubled its scoring output the following quarter as it went into the locker room at halftime ahead 41-15.

“We came out firing,” Rhoads said. “It just seemed that everything we shot was falling. We know they always get up for this game, and playing on their home court was going to be tough. We had to jump out early and not play from behind, and we were able to do that all game.”

It wasn’t just on the offensive end of the court either that the Trojans found success. They held the Green Hornets to just seven points in the first quarter and eight in the second. They shot 3-for-11 in the opening frame and 3-for-8 in the second.

“We’ve been working on our defense a lot at practice lately, particularly our man-to-man defense,” said Rhoads. “We’ve been defending and jumping to the ball and helping really well. Communication is key and that has been better. Keeping them away from the basket has really helped us.”

Parkland’s advantage was 59-29 after three quarters. Emmaus cut its deficit almost in half in the fourth quarter and trailed 61-42, but it was too little too late for the Hornets.

Rhoads finished with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and also had five assists and four steals. Jared Kucharczuk tallied 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Jake Melady connected on six 3-pointers and recorded 20 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Nick Rappa had seven points and six rebounds.

Parkland has another tough divisional game on the road as it takes on Central Catholic on Friday.

“We’re ready for the latter part of the season here,” Rhoads said. “The locker room is the best I’ve seen it all year. We’re playing hard. We’re playing together. We can’t wait for the next game and to see where it takes us.”