When the Zephyrs boys basketball team went into halftime down four points to visiting Liberty High School, it was a tempo that could possibly unlock a victory.

Considering that the Hurricanes (6-2) were averaging a little over 61 points per game and wanted to push the ball up the floor and take advantage of their size and experience, the 20-16 score at the break was a reason for optimism.

"The first half we did exactly what we wanted to do," said head coach Jeff Jones. "We slowed the tempo down and made it a four-point game. It's what we needed to do.

"We executed our game plan perfectly. We were really excited and pleased at halftime."

But when Liberty went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter, that hope soon deflated and the Canes bolted out to a 51-35 victory.

That was due largely to some fast break points during that third quarter stretch. Guards Joey Torres and Patrick Donnelly would push it up and find Greg Noack (13 points) and DeShawn Oyeniyi (13 points) for layups.

Still, the Zephs didn't allow the 'Canes to run rampant, giving them a solid blueprint for the future.

"I thought our defensive effort was outstanding," said Jones.

Jones said that they matched well in their half-court set, both on the perimeter and inside the paint. They were going against a team that's currently ranked 16th in the state by one national publication, and their combination of quickness and size was a formidable task to overcome.

"It's tough to match their speed," said Jones. "That caught up to us a little in the second half."

Senior forward Nick Shafnisky knew their game plan must be one where they were deliberate and they didn't rush, extending each possession to maximize their scoring chances.

"A big part of what we did, the whole practice yesterday, was just take time off the clock," said Shafnisky. "Every time we come down, we want to take at least 30 seconds off [the clock] and get a good shot."

Shafnisky said it would be counterproductive to get into a running game with them.

"They're as athletic as they come, and we knew what we had to do," Shafnisky said. "We had to slow it down and be patient with things and work for a good shot."

They executed that plan brilliantly in the first half, and Shafnisky was able to help them stay close, finishing with a team-high eight points. Also finding the twine was Anthony Bellucci who finished with six points, while Aaron Keglovits netted seven, and Matt Melosky had four.

The loss dips their record to 4-5, with a chance to pull back to .500 with a win over Easton Area High School on Tuesday. Their game against Liberty should give them a good way to handle an up-tempo athletic team, and Jones knows a win starts with defense.

"We've been concentrating playing our match defense," said Jones. "That's pretty much exclusively what we've been doing in practice. We said, 'This is what we're going to do; this is what we're going to focus on, and we'll just continue to work on it."

Jones said if they employ their match defense against as well as they did against Liberty, that's going to give them confidence for the future.