Eddie Ohlson and the Parkland boys’ basketball team were not hiding out in the locker room before their Eastern Pennsylvania Conference quarterfinal-round game against Allentown Central Catholic on Friday night.
They were watching the Parkland girls stage one of the most memorable comebacks of this or any season.
“Our whole team watched [the girls game] to the end,” Trojans coach Eddie Ohlson said. “We’re here to support the girls team and they’re here to support us. Obviously, the atmosphere here was fantastic. Being able to play a playoff doubleheader at home and get the support from both the girls side and the boys side was great.”
What was also great for Parkland in general and the Ohlson family in particular was that the girls, coached by Eddie’s father, Ed, were able to create positive vibes by staging an amazing rally that ended with a stunning 43-42 win.
Trailing 18-0 at the outset, 23-3 after one quarter and 25-3 early in the second period, the Lady Trojans didn’t give up.
They scored the last six points of the first half to get back within 33-18 at halftime and then outscored the Blue Eagles 11-4 in the third quarter to get within 37-29.
Then Nazareth didn’t score in the fourth quarter until Karly Leszcynski made a 3-pointer with 2:27 left to give the Blue Eagles a 40-34 lead.
But junior Cherylllana Cunningham kept making 3-pointers in the final stanza to keep Parkland, the No. 4 seed close. Leszcynski made one of two at the line with 26.9 seconds left to give her team a 42-40 lead.
At the other end, Carly Spang drove into the lane and kicked it out to a wide-open Cunningham who drained a go-ahead 3-pointer — her fifth trey in the game and fourth in the final period — with 12 seconds left.
Nazareth (16-7) quickly got the ball up the floor, and Carly Brown found Braygen Bender under the basket. There was contact made by Cunningham as Bender went up for a layup, but there was no whistle. Fittingly, Cunningham snared the rebound and not only had the ball but also one of the most memorable wins in EPC girls tournament history.
“I just knew I had it, and the team was counting on me, so I just had to boom it,” said Cunningham, who made 17 3-pointers in 16 league games during the regular season. “I felt the energy and we were just ready. It was all unreal.”
Ed Ohlson said of Cunningham, “We had a timeout and drew up a play, and it was for Aneri McGalla to shoot, and [Cunningham] asked me if she was open, could I shoot it? And I said no. But later on I told her that she had the green light. And she came through. I am very happy for her because she worked very hard to become part of the starting lineup.”
Cunningham said, “I am going to remember this. Coming back from 20 points down, we believe we can do anything. We’re excited to go to the PPL Center.”
Parkland (17-4) will play top-seeded Easton, a 54-40 winner over Liberty on Friday night, at 8 p.m. Tuesday at PPL Center in an EPC semifinal. Emmaus and Bethlehem Catholic, who both enjoyed lopsided wins in their quarterfinal-round games, will meet at 6 p.m. in Tuesday’s opener.
It’s a good thing Parkland has a few days to recover emotionally.
“We don’t want to have to do that every night,” Ohlson said. “Once a year is fine. I just told the girls that they showed great resiliency and fortitude to come back like that, but don’t do it again.”
Ohlson’s approach on the sideline was to encourage his team to come back incrementally.
“We broke it down in chunks,” he said. “We said we needed to get it to 15 by halftime and seven by the end of the third quarter. And then we’ll go from there. We only gave up nine points in the second half. The defense was pretty special and if we can keep playing defense like that, we have a chance.”
Ohlson said the win ranked in the top three of his entire coaching career.
“So many girls were amazing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nazareth coach Rich Bickert was stoic as he walked out of the building with his teary-eyed team.
“We missed foul shots again,” he said. “That’s been a problem all year. Plus, they pressured us, and we didn’t handle it very well in the second half. That’s the bottom line. You have to be able to handle the pressure when it comes. No one stepped up to take control. This one’s not easy. The good thing is we have more basketball to play, but that doesn’t make it easier to take. We have to wait for a couple of weeks before we play again. That’s the worst part about it, but we have to deal with it.”
Parkland boys roll 74-37
In what was arguably its most complete performance of the season, the top-seeded Trojans (18-5) dominated the last three quarters in registering their third win of the season over ACCHS.
Parkland led only 17-11 after the first quarter, but outscored the Vikings 42-21 over the middle two quarters and then held ACCHS to five points in the final period. Four players finished in double figures, led by Blake Nassry, who scored nine of his 15 points in the first quarter.
Ryan Kearney made four 3-pointers in a 14-point effort, and Jude Ruisch also had 14 points while Ryan Beck chipped in 13.
The Trojans have not had a completely healthy roster all season until Friday night.
“This is the first game that we have had everybody, and that creates a little bit of depth and length, which is nice,” Eddie Ohlson said. “We got Javian Porter back tonight and if we can get an extra 10 points a game out of him that would be nice. So, these kids are pretty healthy right now, and they’re playing with energy, and the practices have been good. If we can keep this up, good things will happen.”
Parkland’s Nassim Adams, 5, looks to make a play against Allentown Central Catholic in an EPC boys basketball tournament quarterfinal game Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township. (Sharon Merkel/Special to The Morning Call)
Kearney, who has been known for his defense and rebounding, delivered a complete effort He was 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 5-for-6 overall. He also had three rebounds and an assist.
“My teammates were doing a great job of finding me open,” Kearney said. “Blake was doing a great job of driving and kicking it out to me. Naz [Adams] and Tyler, all of the guys, were doing the same thing and I was able to knock down shots. Everyone is contributing. I think we’re peaking at the right time. We’re stacking good days and winning the day. We’re getting guys back and doing great things right now.”
Parkland is happy to be going back to the PPL Center, where they won the EPC title two years ago. Last year, they were eliminated by Whitehall in the quarterfinals.
“Last year we didn’t get to go down there and play and that was one of the goals coming into the season,” Kearney said. “We’re excited to be playing there on Monday night.”
Parkland would be tough to beat in downtown Allentown if the Trojans continue to share the ball as they did against ACCHS. They had 17 assists on their 28 field goals. The good passing led to a 28-fo-43 shooting effort overall and and 9-of-19 shooting from 3-point range. They also had just three turnovers.
Central, meanwhile, had seven turnovers in the first period alone, and fell to 12-11 overall. The Vikings will be off until the District 11 4A quarterfinals on Feb. 20.
Parkland girls 43, Nazareth 42
Nazareth 23 – 10 – 4 – 5 — 42
Parkland 3 – 15 – 11 – 14 — 43
NAZARETH (42)
Leszczynski 2 1-2 7, Ott 3 0-0 7, Brown 2 3-3 7, Davis 3 2-4 10, Bender 1 3-6 5, Deily 0 4-6 4, Brooks 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 13-21 42.
PARKLAND (43)
Spang 1 1-2 7, Gonzalez 1 0-0 2, Hallal 3 0-0 7, Cunningham 4 0-0 12, McGalla 6 0-0 15. Totals 16 1-2 43.Na
3-pointers: Nazareth 5 (Leszczynski 2, Davis 2, Ott. Parkland 10 (Cunningham 4, McGalla 3, Spang 2, Hallal).
Parkland boys 74, ACCHS 37
ACCHS (37)
Schmell 3 0-0 9, Hines 3 2-3 8, Daubert 1 0-0 3, Gonzalez 2 2-4 6, Leak 1 0-0 2, Edmondson 1 0-0 3, Ford 2 0-0 4, Eddinger 0 2-2 2. Totals 13 6-9 37.
PARKLAND (74)
Lawrence 1 0-0 2, Kearney 5 0-0 14, Adams 3 0-0 7, Porter 2 1-2 5, Coen 1 0-0 2, Temchatin 1 0-0 2, Nassry 6 3-3 15, Beck 4 4-5 13, Ruisch 5 1-2 14. Totals 28 9-12 74.
3-pointers: Central Catholic (5) Schmell 3, Daubert, Edmondson. Parkland (9) Kearney 4, Ruisch 3, Adams, Beck.
Other EPC boys
Liberty 52, Pocono Mountain West 44: Jake Pukszyn scored 21 points, and the Hurricanes (15-8 held the Panthers to three points in the second quarter and 12 points in the first half. Aydin Smith led West (19-4) with 13 points, while KJ Coles, one of the area’s leading scorers, was held to eight.rr
Nazareth 56, Allen 51: The Blue Eagles (19-4) got 15 points from Blake Nagurney and 11 from Gavin Kershner and advanced to the EPC semifinals for the first time since 2022. Nazareth trailed 25-20 at halftime, but outscored the Canaries (16-7) 26-15 in the third quarter. Tiheed Wise, Jr., led Allen with 23.
Northampton 57, Whitehall 46: The defending EPC champion Konkrete Kids rallied from a 26-19 halftime deficit and a 39-31 hole after three periods and then outscored the Zephyrs 11-0 in overtime. Noah Walakovits led Northampton with 16 points, and Ethan Raphun added 13. Jack Lloyd paced Whitehall (11-12) with 11.
EPC girls
Emmaus 74, Allentown CCHS 36: The Green Hornets outscored Central 17-2 in the second quarter to take a 37-19 halftime lead and never looked back as the defending EPC champs advanced to Tuesday night’s semifinals at PPL Center. Gabby DeVita led Emmaus with 22 points, while Olive Whitney and Gracie Ervin added 12 apiece.
Colonial League boys
Catasauqua 75, Southern Lehigh 56: The Rough Riders got remarkable scoring balance, placing five players in double figures in advancing to the Colonial League semis for the second straight year. Reece Lopez scored 17 points, Frankie Pujols tallied 14, and Dylan Lorah, Aalani Nix, and Hamaad Jenkins scored 12 apiece as Catty improved to 18-5. The Spartans, led by Jack Fistner’s 16 points and Wyatt Adams’ 14, fell to 14-9.
Northwestern Lehigh 65, Wilson Area 50: The Tigers (18-5) got 19 points from Brady Krimmel, and three others reached double figures as the defending league champs returned to the semifinals. Northwestern pulled away by outscoring the Warriors 19-8 in the third quarter after leading only 32-26 at halftime. Lafayette Acree led Wilson (12-10) with 16 points, and Cole Shotko added 14.
Colonial League girls
Catasauqua 52, Palmerton 37: Hailey Jenkins scored 19 points, and Kaylin Stewart added 18 as the Rough Riders (18-5) advanced to the semis. Cate Morgan led Palmerton (16-7) with 15.
Northwestern Lehigh 49, Saucon Valley 38: Natalie Conner scored 16 points, and Hannah Gober added 14 as the Tigers (20-3) returned to the league semifinals. Northwestern took command immediately by outscoring the Panthers 18-6 in the first quarter. Maggie Gorman led Saucon with 15.
Notre Dame-Green Pond 64, Southern Lehigh 33: Ava Shonk made five of her team’s 11 3-pointers and scored 20 points overall as the Crusaders (19-4) rolled into the semis. Riley Boyle, daughter of Notre Dame boys basketball coach Pat Boyle, added 12. Samantha Fontanez led the Spartans (11-12) with eight,
