Now Emmaus has to wait.

After finishing the regular season Saturday, the Emmaus boys basketball team will have over a week off until it's next game, a District 11 Class AAAA tournament game.

"I don't like it," said Hornet head coach Steve Yoder. "We've gone months now and played consistently. Having a couple days off is one thing, but we're off until next Tuesday."

Despite going 9-5 in Lehigh Valley Conference play, Emmaus (11-11) missed the league playoffs by one game. With only one returning starter and three returning varsity players, the Hornets seamlessly replaced a large 2012 graduating class.

"We proved all the doubters wrong," said Yoder. "We lost eight seniors from a team that was the LVC champs last year. I don't think anybody expected us to go 5-1 in our division and have a chance to qualify for LVCs on the last day of the regular season."

The Hornets headed into Saturday's game, which had been postponed because of Friday's snow, just hours after learning their league playoff hopes had been crushed. Freedom's win over Liberty early Saturday afternoon finished before Emmaus hosted Central Catholic.

With Freedom's win, the LVC playoff field was set and the Hornets were not part of it. While that meant a lot less was on the line against the Vikings, it didn't stop Emmaus from playing hard and coming close to ending Central's 15-game winning streak.

The Hornets held a 49-45 lead over Central after Dan Brndjar's basket with 52 second left in the game. Gabe Shankweiler went to the line with a chance to increase the lead, but missed the front end of a one and one with 39 seconds on the clock.

Jean Lee Baez got a basket for Central to cut the lead to two. The Vikes came up with a quick turnover and a basket by Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who had a chance to convert a three-point play with 17 seconds left that would have put his team ahead by one, but he missed the free throw.

Emmaus' Nate Feiertag sank a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to give his team a 51-49 lead. But Abdur-Rahkman, who had just six points over the first 31 minutes of the game, took the ball under his own basket and went the distance, scoring on a layup and drawing a foul. His free throw was the game-winning point with two seconds left, 52-51.

"I'm disappointed for our seniors," said Yoder. "They're great kids. The good news is the season's not over and we're probably going to host another game. We'll see what we can do in districts."

Most of Emmaus' players will see their first varsity playoff action next week. Only senior point guard Derek Tannous returns from last year's starting lineup, while Shankweiler and Feiertag were also on the varsity roster.

Yoder likes the way this team has come together and is excited to get the playoffs underway.

"I told the boys I'm a big believer in karma," he said. "These kids do everything right. They play hard. They're great students. At the end of the day I think they'll get rewarded for that.

"I still feel we can make a run in districts. They want to be remembered and playoffs is what you're remembered for."

Yoder added that "getting the right draw" in the district playoff bracket could help. Emmaus will likely enter districts as the No. 7 seed and face a Mountain Valley Conference team in a pigtail game next Wednesday.

Saturday's loss to Central was Emmaus final regular season home game. Four senior players were honored before the game in Tannous, Brndjar, Shankweiler and Kane McGovern.