Whitehall head boys basketball coach Jeff Jones previously has been in the situation, and it usually is pretty uncommon.

During the 2011-12 District 11 Class 5A playoffs, the Zephyrs met Bangor in the opening-round. It was the lone instance of the season in which Whitehall faced an opponent it hadn’t met during the regular season.

Whitehall won the game, 52-43, but they lost to Pocono Mountain West, 59-46, in the next round.

This time around, the fourth-seeded Zephyrs (11-11) will meet fifth-seeded East Stroudsburg North (11-11) in the opening-round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday night at Pleasant Valley. The winner will meet top-seeded Pocono Mountain West Feb. 28.

Whitehall ended its season with three consecutive losses to Allentown Central Catholic (78-44), Northampton (56-50), and Parkland (50-44) before they downed Allen (52-46) and Emmaus (60-56).

ES North won two of its last three games with victories over East Stroudsburg South (67-59) and Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg (81-78) and a defeat to Pocono Mountain East (81-78). They previously dropped games to Pocono Mountain West (67-64) and Stroudsburg (52-40).

Jones sees both teams in the same predicament.

“We don’t know much about them, and they don’t know much about us,” said Jones. “We will be watching film on them, and we did get a chance to scout them.”

Jones was pleased with the team’s practices, and their team-bonding activities. They had a scrimmage against Blue Mountain Monday.

“We did a skills competition with the girls’ team,” he stated. “We also had some competitions among the team, and we went out for dinner. We have seen progress all season long, and we have developed a pretty good chemistry.

“We also have been able to develop a good rotation.”

Junior Luke Keppel is the Zephyrs’ leading scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game. Fellow juniors A.J. Hines averages 11 points, and Gavin Roberts chips in with 8.32 points. The Zephyrs average 55 points per contest as a team.

Keppel, who has been the team leader on and off the court, is grateful along with his teammates for the opportunity.

“We are excited about the opportunity to compete in districts,” he said. “We’ve worked really hard to put ourselves in this position. We hope to bring Whitehall back to its winning tradition.

“We are prepared and we realize we will be competing against a good team in East Stroudsburg North. All we want is a chance to make the most of the opportunity in front of us.”

ES North is led by senior Emmanuel Kenyo, who scores 20.3 per game along with junior Bryceson Dobie (19.1 points) and Nate Wilder (17.1), who also leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game.

Keppel knows it has been a team effort.

“I can’t say enough good things about our team,” he beamed. “We are close on and off the floor. Over these last few weeks with not having games, we have stayed close together with doing things on and off the court.

“We enjoy being around each other, and I hope we can continue to be together as long as possible.”

Win or lose, Jones considers the season a success.

“Before the season, we only had four guys who wore a varsity uniform last year,” said Jones. “We only have one senior, and our young guys really made some progress this year.

“But our guys are anxious and ready for the playoffs.”