Back on June 21, nearly two months ago, the Whitehall boys basketball team suffered one of their toughest losses of the Stellar Summer League, a 45-25 defeat to Allentown Central Catholic.

The two teams met again last Thursday in the first round of the playoffs with the stakes much higher this time around. And the Zephyrs were motivated to not just hang with the Vikings, but to take down the league's number one seed with an 11-1 mark.

However, in a game that featured 15 lead changes, the Zephyrs' last lead was stationed at 42-41 with roughly three minutes to play. The Vikings then finished the game scoring six of the final eight points for the 47-44 victory.

"That was the one game [June 21 against Central Catholic] all summer that we didn't feel as if we competed," said assistant coach Corey Frantz. "So our goal was always to compete. And obviously we did that [Thursday]."

After a driving layup by Jean Lee Baez that gave the Vikings a 46-44 lead with seconds remaining, the Zephyrs had a number of opportunities at tying the game.

Moments later, an Anthony Bellucci shot from inside the paint was just off, leading to a Viking defensive rebound and foul by the Zephyrs.

But after the Vikings connected on just one of two free throws, the Zephyrs had one last chance with the ball out of bounds on the sideline. The play was lined up for Bellucci - who had a game-high 21 points - to attempt a game-tying three-pointer.

Bellucci, though, was forced near the sidelines and despite his shot going in, he was previously called for stepping out of bounds in the final seconds, ending any chance at an overtime period.

"We played very well and very hard," said Frantz. "I got nothing but positive things to say about these guys that came tonight."

The Zephyrs who led 21-18 at halftime, tied their largest lead of the game just moments later at 23-20. But neither team trailed by more than three points in the final 20 minutes.

Compared to the first matchup in which the Zephyrs struggled mightily to break the pressure from the Vikings, Whitehall was able to correct those mistakes this time around, one of the biggest turnarounds from the latest meeting.

"We couldn't get the ball over half court the first time around," said Frantz. "Our ability to get into an offense and get quality shots each trip down."

Bellucci hit a total of five three-pointers and scored 13 of his 21 points in the first half. He also scored eight straight Whitehall points near the end of the first half that turned a 16-11 Vikings lead to a 19-16 advantage for the Zephyrs.

"Our whole staff and team feels like every time he shoots the ball it's going in and I think he does too," said Frantz. "He's one of those guys that has that God-given talent."

Matt Melosky scored 10 points, all coming in the second half, while Aaron Keglovits added seven.

The Zephyrs earned a spot in the playoffs after Keglovits hit a last-second shot to defeat Becahi, 44-42, in a play-in game to decide that final playoff spot.

The team finished the regular season with a 8-4 mark.

"I don't think that we came into the summer having great expectations or any expectations for that matter," said Frantz. "We just want to try to improve individually and try to focus on that because throughout the summer you're always missing some guys, whether that be through vacation or sports or something like that."

"All these guys who have come consistently I can say without any question that they've gotten better and they competed," said Frantz. "I have a lot of respect for these guys."