Parkland coach Eddie Ohlson said the major snowstorm that’s expected to hit the area won’t bother him or his team.
His Trojans won their fourth straight game and for the seventh time in their last eight Friday night, outlasting host Whitehall 48-44 before a big crowd on the Zephyrs’ Hall of Fame Night.
You might think a couple of days out of the gym might hurt Parkland, which has found its stride and put itself in position to secure the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament that is now less than two weeks away.
But Ohlson said some rest wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“I’m not an old-school coach,” the third-year leader said. “I think rest is just as important as practice, so if we do have a couple of days off I think it’s a good thing for us. We have a couple of games coming up in a short period of time. So any type of rest we can get, we’ll take. And when we get back to practice, we’ll get after it.”
If the weather and the roads allow, Parkland (13-5, 12-1 EPC) is scheduled to play Allentown Central Catholic on Tuesday, Emmaus on Friday, Imhotep on Feb. 1 in the Lehigh Valley Hoop Group Showcase, and then close out the regular season at Dieruff on Feb. 2. The EPC is set to begin Feb. 6.
Parkland has not lost a league game since opening night at Allen, and it continued to find ways to prevail even if it often takes a struggle.
Against a Whitehall team still bitter about losing a game the Zephyrs thought they had won at Parkland on Dec. 9, the Trojans led 23-17 at halftime and led 37-30 late in the third quarter, but had to rally down the stretch.
A 3-pointer by Talon Dogmanits capped a 10-0 Whitehall run and put the home team ahead 40-37 with six minutes left. Then, after Tyler Beck scored to get Parkland within 40-39, Dogmanits had a conventional three-point play off a rebound to make it 43-39 with 3:51 remaining.
Parkland closed it with a 9-1 spurt sparked by Blake Nassry. The junior hit a 3-pointer to get the Trojans back within 43-42, and then Nassim Adams made two foul shots to give Parkland the lead with 1:46 left.
Talon Dogmanits made a free throw to tie it with a minute left, but Parkland got a big block on the defensive end by Ryan Kearney, and Nassry made four of six at the line late to put it away.
Nassry led the Trojans with 21 points, while Adams delivered five assists and Ruisch chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.
“It was another hard-fought Parkland-Whitehall games and it’s never easy here,” Ohlson said. “We’ve been talking a lot over the past couple of weeks about finishing games, finishing defensive possessions. Ryan Kearney came up with a big block that kind of sealed it for us, and Blake hit a couple of foul shots. So, I am happy with the effort, and since it’s never easy here, I am happy with the win.”
Kearney said of his block, “I try to get one or two blocks a game. That’s one of the biggest things I like to do. I try rotate and help my teammates. I know I am not going to score 20 points per game. My role is to grab rebounds, play good defense, and then score when I have the opportunity. I think we’re peaking at the right time, which is going to lead us into a good playoff run. We’re looking forward to playing Imhotep in the Hoop Group. They knocked us out of states last year so we’re hungry for that one, too.”
Ruisch, a senior who has been a part of district championship teams in basketball and football in his Trojan career, said, “It was a big win for us. We had to do a good job on defense. I like where we’re at. It was a big win for us because we want to keep winning, but it was also big because we don’t want to play these guys in the playoffs. They’re a tough team to play.”
Whitehall (8-11, 6-7) is in a fight with four other teams — Dieruff, Emmaus, Stroudsburg, and Pocono Mountain East — to secure one of the last spots in District 11 6A field. Pocono Mountain West, Nazareth, Allen, Northampton, Parkland, and Liberty have already secured spots. The Zephyrs, who were led by Sudge Hoderewski’s 18, have to play Allen, Central and Emmaus in the final week of the regular season.
Parkland 48, Whitehall 44
Parkland 10 – 13 – 14 – 11 — 44
Whitehall 13 – 4 – 15 – 12 — 48
PARKLAND (48)
Lawrence 0-1 0-0 0, Kearney 1-3 0-0 2, Adams 1-1 2-4 2, Temchatin 2-3 0-0 6, Nassry 6-12 6-9 21, Beck 2-4 0-0 4, Ruisch 5-10 0-0 13. Totals 16-34 8-10 48.
WHITEHALL (44)
Talon Dogmanits 4-7 2-3 11, Tanner Dogmanits 2-3 0-0 5, Lloyd 1-7 2-2 4, Hoderewski 7-12 2-3 18, Richards 0-0 0-0 0, Rozycki 3-5 0-4 6. Totals 17-34 7-13 44.
3-pointers: Parkland (5-16) Ruisch 3, Temchatin 2. Whitehall (3-12) Talon Dogmanits, Tanner Dogmanits, Hoderewski.
Rebounds: Parkland 22 (Ruisch 7). Whitehall 15 (Hoderewski 5).
Assists: Parkland 12 (Adams 5). Whitehall 6 (Tanner Dogmanits 3).
Turnovers: Parkland 6, Whitehall 6.
Fouls: Parkland 14, Whitehall 14.
Officials: Mike Brosious, Andy Donaelli, Johnny Hymans,
Other Friday games
EPC
Northampton 41, Liberty 30: The Hurricanes were held to two points in the second quarter and trailed 22-10 at halftime, and couldn’t recover as the host Konkrete Kids won their fifth straight and improved to 15-3, 12-1 EPC. Noah Walakovts ld Northampton with 15. Jarrell Teague led Liberty (11-7, 9-4) with 11.
Nazareth 50, Beth. Cath. 25: Logan Hahn scored 14 points, and Gavin Kershner and Blake Nagurney added 13 apiece as the Blue Eagles rolled to their sixth straight win and improved to 16-2, 11-2. Sammy Barona led the Golden Hawks (9-9, 5-8) with nine.
Allentown CCHS 66, Dieruff 35: Jared Ford scored 17 points, and Yariel Gonzalez added 16 as the Vikings (11-8, 8-5) snapped a three-game losing streak and clinched a District 11 4A berth with a convincing win at Rockne Hall. Alphy Deris led the Huskies (9-10, 5-8) with 10.
Allen 67, Emmaus 48: Tiheed Wise, Jr., scored 28 points, and Cam Pearsall and Majesty Hawkins added 11 and 10, respectively, as Allen improved to 13-4, 11-2. Noeah Newsome made three 3-pointers, scoring 11 points, and Jake Ross tallied 10 of his 14 in the fourth quarter, but it couldn’t prevent the Green Hornets from falling to 8-10, 5-8.
Easton 59, Freedom 45: Josh Walkiewicz scored 11 points, and three others had 10 as Easton beat Freedom for the second time this season. The Red Rovers improved to 4-13, 4-9. Freedom was led by Elijah Zimpfer and Gabriall Reed, who had 16 and 14 points, respectively. The Patriots fell to 1-18, 0-13.
Stroudsburg 55, ES South 46: Tae El-Bassiouni scored 16 points, and Deon Davis and Jarel Jackson had 11 apiece as the Mounties (9-9, 5-8) boosted their District 11 6A chances with a road. The Cavaliers fell to 2-15, 0-13 despite 18 points from Marcel Stapler.
Poc. Mt. West 60, ES North 20: The Panthers rolled to their 51st straight win against Monroe County Division opponents as Aydin Smith scored 18, Brady Behr added 13, and Teddy Stiehler chipped in 11. West improved to 14-2, 11-2.
Poc. Mt. East 63, Pleasant Valley 53: The Cardinals boosted their District 11 6A hopes by improving to 10-9, 7-6. Aiden Pierre and Anthony Tapia led East with 14 apiece. Jake Loch led the Bears (4-14, 2-11) with 17.
COLONIAL
Salisbury 55, Catasauqua 39: Julian Makhoul scored 17 points, and Steven Lozada added 11 as the visiting Falcons completed a sweep of their season-series with Catty and improved to 17-2, 13-2. Catty, which had a 24-17 halftime lead, was led by Aalani Nix’s 15 points, and Frankie Pujols chipped in 14. The Roughies fell to 12-5, 11-4.
Jim Thorpe 59, Palmerton 46: The Olympians improved to 9-10, 8-7 with three games left in the regular season.
