The Parkland High School boys basketball team’s dream of finishing off a state title run that fell just one win shy last season, came to a close in the PIAA quarterfinal round last Saturday night as the Trojans fell to the District 12 champion, Imhotep Charter, 48-30 at Reading High School’s Geigle Complex.

The Trojans, who finished the year 19-10 overall, struggled from the floor in the second half, especially in the third quarter when they scored just three points.

“I’m proud of our guys,” said head coach Eddie Ohlson. “They competed all game. We hit a dry spell, which has kind of hurt us throughout the year, in the third quarter. We want to play in the state playoffs, and we want to play against great competition. We gave ourselves an opportunity tonight. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our night.”

The Panthers led 8-7 after the opening quarter, but Parkland responded by outscoring them 12-9 in the second quarter to take a 19-17 lead at halftime. Following intermission, Imhotep took control of a tied game by scoring the final nine points of the third quarter, taking a 31-22 advantage. The Trojans went 1-for-12 from the field in the period and managed just three points. Parkland narrowed the gap to 35-27 on a 3-pointer by Blake Nassry with 4:29 remaining, but that’s as close as it got for the Trojans as the Panthers outscored them 31-11 in the half.

Nassry finished with a game-high 17 points. Jude Ruisch tallied six points.

The District 11 champs will graduate four players, including Bauer, Chayce Taylor, Derek Giegbefumwen and Blake Borcoman.

“We’ll learn from this,” Ohlson said. “We’re fairly young. I’m proud of our seniors. They pushed us all year long; they gave us good minutes. But this will drive our young guys over the summer.”

Imhotep (26-5) advanced to the semifinal round to take on District 12 runner-up Father Judge.

In the second round, Parkland held on to defeat Scranton 52-50. The Trojans led 26-18 at halftime and 41-34 after three, but had to prevent a late rally to win. Nassry recorded 13 points and Adams added 10.