The second-seeded Whitehall Zephyrs turned frustration into determination with a 65-59 victory over third-seeded East Stroudsburg North in a District XI Class 5A boys basketball semifinal on Feb. 27 at Liberty High School.

“We knew we had to fight back hard,” said Whitehall center AJ Hines of the Zephyrs who were down by nine points at halftime. “We never had a doubt that we could come back and win.”

Whitehall put up nine consecutive points to start the third quarter, topped off by Luke Keppel’s triple before East Stroudsburg North called a timeout.

Nate Wilder came back with a 3-pointer for the Timberwolves, but Keppel’s 3 tied the game, 36-36.

Bryceson Dobie drained a triple, and when Christopher Samuels knocked away a Whitehall pass to set up a final shot in the third quarter, Ozias Washington tapped the ball in on a missed 3-pointer right before the buzzer.

Staring at a six-point deficit, Whitehall guard Talon Dogmanits forced a steal for a layup and a 48-47 Zephyr lead with 4:50 remaining in the contest.

“They wanted it more in the first half, and we knew we had to make a run. They didn’t miss any shots, so we had to slow them down and start some sort of a comeback,” Dogmanits said. “We got to within two, but they brought it back up, and we knew we had to cut into it again, and a couple turnovers and deflections were forced and led to that.”

East Stroudsburg North’s offense went cold until the three-minute mark, and two buckets by the 6’7 Hines put the Zephyrs ahead, 55-49.

“We tried to get it inside a little more in the second half,” said Whitehall coach Jeff Jones, “I was a little disappointed in the first half that we didn’t get AJ as many touches as we’d like, especially with their lack of size, but as much as they pressured the guards, sometimes making those interior passes is a little more difficult than you’d think.”

Keppel’s free throws in the last minute sealed the game for the Zephyrs.

“Luke’s unbelievable,” Jones said. “He makes plays like crazy. We have a group of seniors who really compete, and they didn’t want to see their season end. I was pretty confident that we were gonna compete in that second half.”

The Timberwolves ruled the first half with a defense that kept the Zephyrs on the perimeter and an offense that couldn’t miss on the inside and from the outside.

“They’re really, really good, and they’re really, really quick, as quick as any team that we play,” said Jones. “More disappointed in our defense. Our defense has been pretty good. I think they probably shot 60 percent from the field in the first half. We had to tighten that up a little bit.”

Whitehall will compete in the district final against top-seeded Pocono Mountain West on March 1 at Pleasant Valley High School.