The Emmaus High School boys basketball team looked up at the scoreboard early in the third quarter and saw Parkland leading by double-figures, 31-21 last Thursday on the Trojans’ home court. Then the Hornets saw their point guard and vocal leader, Dylan Darville sustain an ankle injury.

The outlook seemed gloomy, but the Green Hornets showed their resilience as Darville eventually returned to the court and his team used a strong third quarter comeback to take down the Trojans 52-44 in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference West Division game.

The Trojans (8-5 overall, 7-2 EPC) scored a basket with 5:25 left in the third quarter to take the 31-21 lead, but the Hornets (12-2, 7-2) responded by scoring 21 straight points, including 12 after Darville exited the contest. That propelled them to a 42-31 advantage early in the fourth quarter and Parkland never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

“We lost our great point guard, Dylan, and we just kept our heads up high,” said Will Barber, who scored a game-high 17 points in the win. “Coach [Steve Yoder] told us to just keep playing. I think the defensive intensity really scared them, and we went on a run.”

Barber led a strong defensive effort with six steals for Emmaus, which finished with nine steals in the game. He gave the Hornets their first lead of the second half, 32-31 with 2:29 left in the third quarter.

Jadis Brevitt had a driving bucket with 25 seconds to go and Parkland missed a 3-point attempt. Barber scored a layup on a runout in the closing moments, giving the visitors a 38-31 lead going into the final quarter of play.

“The last two years haven’t really been a competition (against Parkland), but this year we’re all locked in and hungry,” Barber said. “I think this is a huge win. We’ve got to keep this momentum.”

Emmaus clinched a District 11 playoff berth earlier in the week and bounced back from two consecutive conference defeats to Northampton and Pocono Mountain West.

“We really needed this one for our confidence,” said Barber. “We started the year 10-0 and we weren’t really used to losing. It was great getting this one to get that feeling of winning back.”

Darville tallied 15 points and Brevitt added 13. Emmaus has another busy, three-game week beginning with a trip to Easton on Tuesday, followed by a home game against Central Catholic on Friday and another road game at Upper Perkiomen.