Say hello to the cardiac kids again.

Trailing by nine leading into the fourth quarter, those cardiac kids, otherwise known as the Zephyr boys basketball team, mounted a furious comeback, finally overtaking William Allen High School with an 18-point onslaught in that final frame for a 51-50 victory on Tuesday.

It was their ninth win of the season and gets them one step closer to a playoff berth. Needing two more wins to get into the district playoffs, that journey became a little more urgent after losing to Allentown Central Catholic High School last Thursday.

However, Tuesday's win over a tough league opponent may be the catalyst they need to make the postseason dance.

These late season heroics are nothing new.

In fact, it's been familiar territory the last few years, as they've responded with must wins late in the season to earn a spot in the District 11 tourney.

With Lehigh Valley Conference games against William Allen, Northampton and Nazareth, plus a inter league tilt against Pocono Mountain West High School, the Zephs need to be almost perfect or face elimination.

It's now one down, and three more to go.

Jones said the key to beating the Canaries would be dictated by tempo. He stressed that playing at their tempo would help unlock a victory.

"We have to keep the game in the fifties or the high forties," said Jones. "That's going to be very important to us."

Consider it mission accomplished as they held the Canaries right at 50. They were most effective in that final period, limiting Allen to just eight points.

Jones said they also needed to concentrate on stopping Richard Fletcher whose inside game was going to be an area that Allen wanted to exploit. They held Fletcher to just eight points.

The other area they needed to address was the perimeter, said Jones. The Canaries rely on the jump shot, and they have a few players who can stroke it from beyond the arc.

"We want to make sure we push them out as far from the line as possible," said Jones.

They were somewhat successful in that respect as well, although Daiyon Barnett hit two three-pointers en route to his team-high 18 points.

The Zephs, on the other hand, were deadly from beyond the stripe, with guard Anthony Belluci blistering the nets with five treys for 15 points. Aaron Keglovits also knocked down a three, finishing with 12 points. Both Chad Rex and Nicholas Shafnisky had seven points in the win, while James Wah and Damon Meckes chipped in with four.

Before the game, Jones said they needed to find a way to score some easy buckets. They were struggling to score points during certain stretches of the game, with last week's 59-45 loss to ACC a prime example of their offensive woes kicking in. They managed just one point in the second quarter as they were scoreless from the field.

"It's difficult to win that way," said Jones. "You can only hold teams down so long defensively. You have to be able to score."

The Zephs made sure they got their offense in gear on Tuesday as eight players found their way onto the stat sheet. With the emergence of Keglovits and Radocha, the Zephs are utilizing more offensive options. Jones said the young guys are growing every day and with the stakes so high in these last few games, it also gives them something to build on.

Right now they'll be looking to those seniors who have done it before, watching them as they make that final push. Once they achieve that goal, they'll also get to experience postseason basketball.

"It will give them a taste of what the playoffs are all about," said Jones. "I think that's important."