The Whitehall Zephyrs saved the best for last in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A state playoffs against Phoenixville, taking their first lead of the game late in the third quarter followed by senior guard Luke Keppel’s 1,000th point with 34.7 seconds remaining in the Zephs’ 62-46 victory over the Phantoms on March 8 at Whitehall.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately because I’ve been getting close, but the whole team made our free throws down the stretch and that’s all that matters,” Keppel said. “I didn’t even know what to think. I just wanted to make the foul shots and let the celebration begin after that, so I’m thankful, and thanks to my parents and all my coaches and my teammates.”

Whitehall’s student section was on its feet to watch Keppel’s 1,000th point, and after teammates and coaches congratulated the DeSales University recruit, Keppel walked across the court to hand the game ball to his grandfather, Thomas Keppel, who attends all of his grandson’s games.

“In all the years I’ve been coaching as varsity coach here, no one deserves to get that more, and to be able to do it here in front of his family and his friends is pretty special,” said Whitehall coach Jeff Jones. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment, and it’s a result of a lot of really hard work on his part. I give him all the credit because he put a lot of work into this.”

Coach Jones didn’t check on Keppel’s point count until he knew the contest was secure, well into the fourth quarter.

“The intensity of the game...crashing the boards, getting the rebounds, and pushing the ball in transition really helped us,” said Keppel. “We had to come out guns a-blazin’ in the second half. We made a lot of shots, and AJ Hines had a great second half, so we kept the intensity up.”

The second half is when the fun began for the Zephyrs as they turned the tables on the Phantoms who maintained the lead for the first 16 minutes of the game.

Whitehall guard Talon Dogmanits got a steal and made the pass to Gavin Roberts who dished it off to Ethan Ringenberger for a triple.

Ringenberger then gave the Zephyrs their first lead of the game with 2:34 left in the third quarter on another triple after a Phoenixville turnover.

Roberts and Keppel’s free throws put Whitehall ahead, 40-34, at the end of the frame.

Whitehall’s Hines treated the crowd to a spectacular dunk early in the fourth quarter, and a signature 3-pointer from Keppel at the 5:25 mark kept the momentum on the side of the Zephyrs while wearing out the Phantoms.

“Second half, we wanted to mix it up a little bit more,” said Coach Jones. “I didn’t know if it was gonna be as much man as we ended up playing. It depends on our personnel. We had to pay some more match at the end, but I thought we played both pretty well. The big kid in the middle for them, Libisky’s a really good player, and I thought AJ did a really solid job on him, defensively. We needed that.”

Hines, Keppel, and Roberts accounted for most of Whitehall’s first-half points after Phoenixville opened with an 8-0 run on points from Christian Cervino, Dawson Brown, and Aidan McClintock.

“When it was 8-0, we knew we weren’t gonna let it stay like that,” Roberts said. “I felt like we needed an extra piece to win this game, so I decided that I was gonna start off hot, do my thing, get the rebounds, hustle, everything I could to help us get the win. Our school hasn’t done this in awhile, in a long time, and it’s never been home, so the fact that we would play here, we knew we had to come out and win the game for everybody in Whitehall.”

Sebastian Orochena entered the game early in the second quarter and immediately hit a 3-pointer for the Zephyrs.

Keppel led the Zephyrs with 23 points, followed by Hines with 18 points, and Roberts with 9 points. Ringenberger had 6 points, and Orochena and Dogmanits added 3 points apiece.

“It’s a great opportunity for our school,” said Coach Jones regarding Whitehall’s berth in state playoffs. “Our sports programs this year have been unbelievable, culminating with kids in wrestling out at states. We have two really great swimmers, our girls are playing in a state playoff game, and then for us to be able to win this game here, to have this opportunity to play in a state playoff is everything you could ask for.”

Everything you could ask for and then some.

“It’s great. It’s great,” Roberts said. “Keppel scoring the thousand too. Cherry on top right there.”