In their last meeting with Parkland, the Emmaus High School boys basketball team got a statement victory on the road, handing the Trojans their first league loss of the season. But following three Eastern Pennsylvania Conference losses in their last four games, the Green Hornets needed some positive momentum with the regular season quickly coming to a close.

They got just that and it came, once again, at the hands of their rival Trojans.

Emmaus (16-5 overall, 10-5 EPC) took a big step toward clinching a league tournament berth with a 51-30 EPC West Division win over visiting Parkland last Thursday night in the home finale and senior night for the Hornets. Emmaus also beat Parkland 52-44 back on Jan. 13. Emmaus snapped a seven-game win streak for the Trojans (14-6, 12-3) and is now in the thick of the race for an EPC berth.

“With the results coming on the wrong end of late, we really needed this one,” said head coach Steve Yoder. “Not only is it a league game, it’s at home and against our rival. The boys were extra motivated for this one, but regardless of who we were playing we needed a win.”

Dylan Darville led the way with a game-high 15 points. Jadis Brevitt also finished in double figures, adding 11. Will Barber tallied nine points for Emmaus.

Emmaus stepped up defensively in each quarter. The Hornets opened the game scoring 15 of the first 18 points, holding the Trojans to just three points in the opening quarter.

“We know that they have some offensive weapons and can score the ball really well,” Yoder said. “I thought we did a good job making things difficult for them in a lot of different areas. We put pressure on them and our defensive efforts helped us on offense.”

The Hornets held Parkland’s leading scorer, Nick Coval, to just nine points. They took a commanding 26-8 lead into halftime and were never threatened the rest of the way as Parkland never got its deficit into single digits.

Emmaus dropped conference games against Central Catholic, Northampton and Allen before earning that much-needed win against the Trojans.

The EPC tournament will have eight teams and is set to begin on Friday with the top four seeds hosting the first round and then the semifinals and final played at the PPL Center. With one game left to play in the regular season, Emmaus sits as the five seed.

“We’re excited for the postseason,” said Yoder. “We think we have a great team and a really good chance at making a run.”

Emmaus concluded its regular season Monday night with a loss at Central Catholic.