Hornets look to bounce back after 0-2 week; Coach Yoder has complete faith his team will respond
by Scott Johnson
http://www.emmaussports.com
January 23, 2012

Despite being ranked No. 4 amongst the big schools in the state of Pennsylvania the last two weeks, Steve Yoder still heard the whispers about his boys basketball team.

"There have been a lot of people in my ear giving me solicited and unsolicited comments and one of the things that I consistently hear is that this team doesn't seem to play with the energy that some teams do," said Emmaus' fourth-year head coach.

Agree or disagree, it finally caught up to the Hornets this past week.

And now they must respond.

Quickly.

Emmaus saw its 10-game win streak come to an end and its undefeated record in the Lehigh Valley Conference go to the wayside this past week to two teams -- Parkland and Easton -- that it could potentially see in the league playoffs and or the District XI playoffs.

Parkland, having already defeated the Hornets once this season (50-43 in the season-opener back on December 10) - came up with the winning formula again as they handed coach Yoder's squad its second loss of the season in a playoff-like atmosphere at Parkland High School last Tuesday.

Three days later, with an opportunity to atone for its first setback in the LVC and playing at "The Hive" where they haven't lost all season (5-0), the Hornets failed to protect home court as they fell to an athletic and lightning quick Easton team 67-64.

In both defeats, two things were evident.

Energy level and the physicality of play.

Both the Trojans and Red Rovers brought it and for some odd reason, the Hornets, didn't.

And for now, the whispers will continue as Emmaus looks to rebound following its toughest week of the season.

"We all agree that it's one of those defining moments in the season, but that's not something to shy away from or be afraid of," said Yoder outside his team's locker room following Friday's three-point loss to Easton. "I think it's a pretty exciting thing if at the end of this season you're able to reach your goals. So hopefully the boys recognize that nothing is given to you and that you have to earn it and there's a certain way to go about earning it."

"I think there still navigating their way through that learnining process but it's going to have to come quickly to them," added the Hornets coach.

Picked as one of the favorites in the LVC in the pre-season, Emmaus is still in a good position to accomplish all of its goals.

The Hornets still have one of the area's best records at 10-3 and are just one game away from clinching its third straight trip to the District XI playoffs.

In addtion, the team still maintains a 6-2 mark and are the still the favorite to represent the Western Division in the league tournament which gets underway on February 14.

But they'll need to respond - and quickly. Something they didn't do this past week.

"Honesty, I don't think we did in either game this past week," said senior Steve Gigler, the Hornets top defender. "We came out pretty flat in both games. Our intensity wasn't up to our opponents level and I think they wanted more in the first half and it cost us in both games."

Parkland, which knocked off previsouly-unbeaten Freedom on Friday, outscored the Hornets 15-8 in the deciding fourth quarter and got balanced scoring from its big three of junior Austin Beidelman (13 points) and seniors Rob Dvoracek (12) and Zack Muhr (10) to knock off Emmaus for the second time this season.

Easton trailed early on Friday (11-9) but then took over and never let the lead slip away as they scored their second most points of the season and won the battle of the boards in beating Emmaus for the fifth time in the last six meetings.

With a tough road test against a red-hot Liberty team on Tuesday,  the road does not get any easier for the Hornets.

Coach Chad Landis' team is 10-4 overall and 6-2 in the LVC and trail crosstown rival Freedom by just one game in the East Division.

Following Liberty, Emmaus still has to contend with the likes of Freedom, Allen and Central Catholic to close out the regular-season.

Despite the road ahead, Yoder still believes in his team (as he always has) and that they will respond despite a pair of losses last week.

"I still think we're one of the top two or three teams in the league," he said. "This loss (against Easton tonight) doesn't change anything. I'm as confident as I was opening tipoff. I embrace the challenge and the losing streak. As a coach, I thrive on that. That's good stuff and I hope our players thrive on that challenge.

"Every team has those points in the season," he added. "It doesn't matter if you're the (Dallas) Mavericks or the Duke Blue Devils.  On every level you have those moments in the season that define you and maybe this is one of those moments for us.

"I have complete faith in my team and I will until the last second of the last game."