With the schedule winding down, Whitehall head basketball coach Jeff Jones wants his team in a specific frame of mind every time they step onto the floor.

"We really talked about treating every game as if it were a playoff game," said Jones.

Right now the Zephs are 7-5 in the Lehigh Valley Conference, and every game is critical. A league championship berth is at stake and they need to win all their games in order to win the division and vie for an LVC crown.

That first step was against the Konkrete Kids on Friday night. It was also senior night, and the Zephyrs honored their five seniors, Matt Melosky, Aaron Keglovits, Ryan Bonshak, Marcus Esquilin and Seth Rissmiller, all of whom played vital roles in keeping their playoff hopes alive by knocking out the Kids, 58-44. Jones said it was the first time that group started a game. And it was a good combination as that five staked the Zephs to an early lead, jumping out to a 13-6 advantage at the end of the first period.

Jones said that they prepared for the situation during the week and the seniors really responded. It was their effort that got the ball rolling. "They gave us a little bit of a cushion early," he said.

However, the Kids hung around. The Kids outscored the Zephs by three in the second period, cutting into the Zephs lead. At the break, that margin was sliced to four points.

But the Zephs made sure this game wouldn't follow the Bethlehem Catholic script, where they struggled from the foul line, especially in the second half.

Jones said they were proficient from the stripe, going 23-28 for the game. It's an area of the game they constantly talk about and work on since it can be the difference between a win and a loss.

One player who was hot from the line was Keglovits. He dropped 9-10 and finished with a team-high 15 points. Melosky also had an incendiary hand from the line, going 6-6. He finished with 10 points. The team got contributions across the board with Brett Radocha hitting double figures for the sixteenth time this season. The junior has only failed to reach that mark in three games this year, finishing with 11 points. Jacob Meyers had another solid game adding seven, while point guard Chad Rex dropped in six.

Seniors Bonshak and Esquilin also got on the tally sheet with Bonshak depositing a trey, while Esquilin nailed down a field goal for a deuce. Mustafa Mitchell and Jacob Buskirk rounded out the scoring, with Mitchell sinking two, while Buskirk added a field goal as well. Jones said they were also able to get the important win via their defensive effort.

"I thought our defense was really good again," said Jones.

They were able to throttle the Kids offense, especially in the final period, allowing just 11 points to the visitors.

While that win was the first rung in their climb for a league championship, the Zephs stumbled a bit the following night against Pocono Mountain West High School, losing 63-53.

While it wasn't a death knell for the playoff aspirations, Jones said it may impact their seeding once they get into district play. He knew it would be a tough game since the Panthers came into the contest with just four losses. He said that head coach Brad Pensyl's team likes to get up and down the floor and they do a good job of getting offense through transition.

"They're extremely athletic and they're very good in transition," said Jones. "We got beat on the boards, and we weren't able to get second chances and they did."

He said that they have five guys on the floor who can handle the ball and that makes it tough to defend at times.

The Zephs were also hampered by the loss of Gianni Sinatore who is one of the first players off the bench for Jones' crew.

They also decided to expand their bench, hoping to give minutes and experience to a number of players who will be needed down the stretch. While they played well, Jones said they needed to keep the Panthers up-tempo offense in the mid 50s, a benchmark which maximizes the chances for a Zephyr win.

Unfortunately, they couldn't pen the Panthers and dropped the non-league contest to fall to 12-9. Leading the way for the Zephs was Rex who finished the game with 12 points. Radocha added 11, while Melosky chipped in with eight. Additionally, Meyers and Keglovits each had seven points, while Mitchell knocked down four and Rissmiller had two.