The Whitehall Zephyrs were right where they wanted to be for most of their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game against Abington Heights, but the Comets came away with a 76-70 double overtime victory on March 12 at East Stroudsburg South High School.

“We knew that they were not going to quit, obviously. We knew they were going to continue to come at us,” said Whitehall coach Jeff Jones. “We just didn’t make enough plays at the end, but I thought we executed some of our stuff to perfection tonight.”

The Zephyrs led by as much as 13 points in the third quarter after Luke Keppel’s 3-pointer and a jumper by Sebastian Orochena.

Ethan Ringenberger made a huge block for the Zephyrs with 30 seconds left in the frame, but Abington Heights’ Robby Lucas knocked down a 3-pointer to close it out.

Jordan Shaffer, Mason Fedor, and Ryan Nealon combined for eight points to start the fourth quarter for the Comets, and Ringenberger responded with a triple.

The Comets managed to tie the game on Shaffer’s triple with 3:08 left in regulation and took a 53-50 lead on Nealon’s 3, but Keppel’s 3-point play tied it again, and Lucas and Ringenberger traded buckets to take the contest to overtime.

“To get that lead we had against that quality club, and then, I just said to the kids, I think we were up four fairly late, and [Nealon] hit about a 30 footer, you know, sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap to the opposing team as well,” Coach Jones said. “They’re a hell of a team. The coach has won a zillion games for a reason. He obviously does a great job with his kids. We’re super proud of our guys.”

Whitehall led by five points in the first overtime, but Lucas and Nealon hammered the Zephyrs with two more triples.

With two seconds remaining, the Zephyrs executed a perfect pick and roll, but the shot wouldn’t fall, leading to a second overtime.

“It’s our go-to,” Jones said. “If we have an opportunity to put Luke and AJ (Hines) in a pick-and-roll situation, it’s gonna get us a chance to score. We have our best basketball handler and a great finisher around the basket, so we got what we wanted. The ball just didn’t go in the basket this particular time. As far as the execution of it, the kids executed it perfectly.”

Hines scored 23 points on the night, making difficult shots look easy, drawing fouls, and coming up with two big blocks in the first half.

“He was tremendous,” said Jones. “We get the ball to him, and he doesn’t disappoint. Defensively, he helps protect around the rim. He had a phenomenal game.”

Gavin Roberts, Talon Dogmanits, and Seth Hoderewski also made significant contributions in Whitehall’s second-round state playoff game.

Abington Heights, now 26-0 on the season, will face Imhotep Charter in a 5A state quarterfinal on Friday.

“You look at their stats going into the game, and you go, wow, they have four guys on the perimeter who all can shoot,” Jones said. “It makes it a difficult matchup.”