Whitehall’s boys basketball team had a double-digit lead before East Stroudsburg North scored its first points in a District XI Class 5A quarterfinal, won by the Zephyrs, 60-48, on Feb. 24 at Pleasant Valley High School.

“It was the preparation,” said Whitehall guard Luke Keppel (16 points). “We put the ball in the basket, obviously, but as soon as we stepped on the bus, everybody was locked-in. First half was amazing.”

Whitehall coach Jeff Jones said that playing in the district tournament is a first for his 15-man roster.

“I even said to them before the game, ‘I’ve been doing this for 34 years and I have butterflies, so I know you have butterflies, and that’ll go away once the ball gets thrown up and the game starts, and it’s just another game.’ But at the end of the night, it’s more meaningful than many other games.”

Thanks to the Zephyrs’ unstoppable offense and solid defense, the Timberwolves found themselves in a 20-point hole at halftime.

“We had a game on them of film, but really, we didn’t know that much but that they were a tough team, and they beat East Stroudsburg South, and we lost to them, so we knew it was gonna be a tough matchup,” said Whitehall junior Ethan Ringenberger (10 points). “Their pressure was very good, and that was something we struggled with throughout the year. Once we slowed the pace down of the game, we were able to put the ball in the basket.”

That struggle came back to haunt the Zephyrs in the third quarter, unable to score until the final minute, while the Timberwolves, the second highest scoring team in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, racked up 13 points.

“I don’t know. It was kind of like that halftime slump, and they ramped up the pressure a lot,” said Whitehall forward Gavin Roberts. “They were pressing us really hard, so we had to get into it, get used to it, and once we did, it was right back to the game.”

While the Zephyrs were having trouble getting a good look, Jones called a timeout.

“We got in a little trouble,” he said. “We were a little quick when they were doubling us, and we didn’t take care of the basketball, something we certainly will address in the next couple days. They got it down to 10, and I was disappointed in how we executed for sure, but we held it together.”

Whitehall forward Gavin Roberts scored with 52 seconds left in the quarter after sinking a free throw 30 seconds earlier.

Nathaniel Wilder intercepted a Whitehall pass and scored for the Timberwolves, Zephyr freshman Sudge Hoderewski added two points, and Jonathan Francisco’s bucket for North closed out the quarter.

“The first half, we played so well and put ourselves in a position where, even if the second half wasn’t perfect, we still had a pretty comfortable lead,” said Jones.

Nathaniel Bourjolly’s 3-pointer brought the Timberwolves within nine points, but Ringenberger answered with a 3, and Hoderewski’s bucket off a steal, as well as Keppel’s 3 put the Zephyrs back in control.

In the final two minutes, Roberts and Hoderewski synced up on consecutive plays to put the game away for Whitehall.

“They were pressing us up court and they found me open,” Roberts said, “so I was gonna do whatever I could to get a bucket, and he was cutting down, was wide open, and I had to pass it to him every time.”

Bryson Gilchrist was East Stroudsburg North’s high scorer with 22 points.

Whitehall will take on Pocono Mountain West in a district semifinal scheduled for Feb. 28 at Pleasant Valley High School.

“Pocono Mountain West is a really good team, they made it to the league championship...but we beat them by two (in the regular season),” said Keppel. “If we continue to put the ball in the basket, it’ll be hard to stop us.”