The Parkland High School boys basketball team has played on the big stage and under the bright lights of the PPL Center in downtown Allentown before. But many of the games have ended in disappointment, including last year’s District 11 championship game against Allen, when the Trojans had a fourth-quarter lead slip and were beaten.

But just last week, Parkland was able to see PPL in a positive light, winning both postseason games it played there. The Trojans used a third quarter spurt to distance themselves and finish off Nazareth, 56-46 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference final last Thursday night.

Third-seed Parkland (18-7 overall) used motivation from years past, most notably last year, to make sure it walked off the court victors against the fifth-seeded Blue Eagles (19-5). It is the first league championship for the Trojans since they won it in 2016.

“Last year was terrible the way we lost and the way the season ended,” said Parkland sophomore Nick Coval. “To come out and get it done, it feels great.”

Coval was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, finishing with 18 points, including his last of two 3-pointers made in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach late. Parkland trailed 14-11 after the opening quarter, but started making a comeback in the second, going into halftime ahead 26-24, needing more cushion. They found some in the third.

The Trojans grabbed control of the contest with a 9-1 run that took all of a minute near the end of the third quarter. A steal and layup by Matt Ray gave the Trojans a 41-32 lead with 1:01 to go in the period. They closed out the game from the free-throw line, going 10 for 19 in the final frame that did not allow Nazareth much room for a comeback attempt.

“It’s definitely just calming down, playing at your own pace and controlling the pace,” Coval said. “Especially as a point guard, it’s seeing the whole floor and reading the defense. I think that’s what won us the game because we didn’t make as many free throws as we wanted, but we made enough to win.”

Parkland’s defense, as well, made it hard on the Blue Eagles, holding them to just 17-of-46 from floor overall and 5-of-18 from long range.

“That was a big focus of ours coming into the game, just to run guys off the three-point line,” said Coval. “We knew if we did that, we’d have a really good chance of winning.”

Will Meeker tallied 14 points and six rebounds. Ray recorded nine points and eight rebounds and Jesse Ruisch added seven points.

Parkland is the top seed in the District 11 Class 6A Tournament, which opens up this weekend. The Trojans will play the eighth seed, Freedom, in the quarterfinal round on Saturday afternoon.