Emmaus hands Parkland its first LVC loss, 55-52

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Emmaus got 17 points from Joe Nicolini, 14 from Gabe Shankweiler and 13 from Derek Tannous in a balanced attack in a 55-52 win over Parkland on Tuesday night before a packed house of about 700 in the Green Hornets' gym. Dan Brndjar scored just one point, but played a pivotal role in the Emmaus win with eight assists. Both Nicolini and Tannous had eight rebounds for Emmaus and Nate Feiertag added seven boards. Parkland fought back from a 36-28 halftime deficit and got to within 51-49 with 50 seconds remaining, but misfired on some 3-point attempts down the stretch. Justin Zajko, who carried the Trojans with a terrific 24-point, 9-rebound effort, hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough. Emmaus had just one field goal -- by Nicolini -- in the fourth quarter, but made just enough foul shots to hold on for its first win over Parkland since the 2010-11 season. The Green Hornets fell to the Trojans three times last year, including the district semis. The Trojans were just 5-for-17 from the field in the fourth quarter and 9-for-28 in the second half. Parkland, ranked No. 10 in the state among 4A schools, fell to 11-2, 6-1. Emmaus is now 7-5, 6-1. Both teams remain in first place in their LVC divisions. Here's the box: Parkland 16-12-10-14 -- 52 Emmaus 18-18-8-11 -- 55 PARKLAND (52) Cross 1-3 0-2 2, Hahn 4-12 1-2 9, Beidelman 5-11 1-1 15, Hassler 0-1 0-0 0, Rindock 1-6 0-0 2, Case 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Dulorie 0-1 0-0 0, Selvaggi 0-0 0-0 0, Zajko 9-17 3-5 24, Mitton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 5-9 52. EMMAUS (55) Tannous 3-7 4-4 13, Brndjar 0-2 1-2 1, McGovern 1-3 0-0 2, Shankweiler 4-7 6-7 14, Feiertag 3-10 2-5 8, Nicolini 8-12 1-4 17, Prescott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-41 14-22 55. Officials: Rob Bosak, Jack Keiter. JV: Parkland 65-24. 3-pointers: Parkland (7-22) Beidelman 4, Zajko 3. Emmaus (3-9) Tannous 3. Rebounds: Parkland 25 (Zajko 9). Emmaus 37 (Tannous 8, Nicolini 8). Assists: Parkland 8 (Hahn 4). Emmaus 14 (Brndjar 8). Turnovers: Parkland 4. Emmaus 11.