The Parkland High School boys basketball team had a storybook run through the postseason before states.

Coming off a regular season finale victory at Whitehall, the Trojans won three straight in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Tournament and three in a row in the District 11 tournament to win both championships.

But the momentum and success of the seven-game win streak came to a sudden end in the PIAA Class 6A state tournament first round game, as the Trojans fell to District 1’s 10th -place team, Penn Wood, 60-50 last Wednesday night at Parkland High School.

“We didn’t play our best game and I’m not sure why,” said head coach Andy Stephens. “We watched them, and I talked to a couple of coaches and I felt pretty good going into the game. But they were actually bigger in person than they were on tape and really athletic and we just exerted so much energy when we got down early.

“We dug ourselves a big hole and had to come back and then we just couldn’t get over the hump. And then a couple of shots went in and out for us and they all went in for them. It’s tough. But it certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort. It just wasn’t our night.”

The Trojans, who’s season finished at 21-8 overall, fell behind 16-4 less than four minutes into the game and were forced to comeback, which they did. Parkland took a 24-21 lead in the second quarter before trailing 27-26 at halftime.

The Trojans’ took back the lead midway through the third quarter on a three-point play by Will Meeker, giving his team a 35-34 edge. The Patriots (16-8 overall) answered with a three-pointer and turned a steal into a layup and was back on top 39-35. Nick Coval then answered with a three-pointer to pull Parkland within one, 39-38, with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter.

In the final sequence of the period, Parkland forced a turnover but tossed the ball back to Penn Wood. Naeem Purnell recorded a three-point play to give the visitors a 42-38 advantage with 1.9 seconds on the clock just before the final frame. The Trojans were behind the entire fourth quarter and could not complete the comeback attempt.

“The one thing I put on the board was that we have to exceed their energy and be hungrier than they are,” Stephens said. “I said, ‘Look me in the eye and tell me we are hungrier than they are.’ I am not saying we weren’t hungry enough, but we were pretty confident going in. I don’t think we were overconfident. I know these guys were content with what we accomplished this year, but I also know they wanted more.”

Coval finished with 15 points and added six rebounds. Meeker tallied a game-high 20 points, and Jesse Ruisch contributed eight points. Matt Bauer netted five points and Matt Rantz rounded out the scoring with two points.