Whitehall's victory over Emmaus inside a packed gym last Friday came with a pair of cleaning supplies that effectively wiped out the Hornets, giving the Zephyrs another win toward a possible EPC wildcard berth.

Those supplies came in the form of Brett Radocha and Saquon Barkley, who thoroughly wiped the glass clean, combining for 27 rebounds in a 55-47 win over the Green Hornets.

Their physical presence inside, aided by guard Nick Hassler who grabbed a few boards himself among the trees, helped them notch another league win.

"One of the things we thought we could do was play physical," said head coach Jeff Jones. "Last couple of games, I said to the kids afterward, 'There's nobody in the Valley right now who's playing as physical and as hard as we are.' I'm really proud of how well we hit the boards, both the offensive end and the defensive end, everyone did an unbelievable job."

He said that their key every day is to make sure they battle for the basketball, something they did throughout the game against the Hornets. Whether it was Mikey Esquilin diving after loose balls, or Jake Meyers tying up a player on the floor, the Zephs were winning the battle for the 50-50 balls, underscoring their aggressiveness.

"Those are huge, you have to get those," said Jones. "That's just competing. There were a couple of loose balls in the first half where there were more guys on the floor than there were standing. As a high school coach, I just appreciate the effort."

He said the biggest compliment the team can give to the coaching staff is in how hard they play, and that was on display throughout the 48 minutes.

The Zephs had to play most of the game without Chad Rex who got injured in the first few minutes after a drive to the basket. Before that spill, Rex had scored five points setting the tone early for the Zephyrs.

"In the beginning of the game, Chad was scrappy," said Jones. "He had a bunch of rebounds and deflections and stuff like that, and then to lose him and have these other guys pick it up was huge."

The Zephs relied on Esquilin to give them some firepower off the bench. The freshman responded with nine points. They also got quality minutes from Jake Buskirk who mixed it up inside, finishing with two points.

Still, the Hornets kept it close, getting buckets from Tyler Prescott who found some open lanes to deliver points inside. The guard finished with 16 points to lead the visitors.

But Hassler made sure the team stuck to the game plan, orchestrating the offense from the point and sinking critical free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.

During the game, the bulk of their scoring came from their seniors as Radocha, Barkley, Meyers and Hassler combined for 39 points.

Barkley was able to score underneath the basket after drives from the top of the key, connecting on two nifty lay-ups that helped stretch the Zephyrs lead.

"One thing we talked to him about is that he's so explosive, and it's hard for guys to guard him," said Jones. "So when he catches the ball at the foul line, it's one dribble and he's to the rim quickly, and that explosion from where he lands to where the basket is, there's nobody blocking his shot because he's so strong."

But it was Radocha's basket that dampened the spirits of Emmaus late in the third period. After the Hornets cut the lead to 30 to 27 with just 46 ticks left on the clock in the third, the southpaw connected on a crippling three-pointer to give the Zephs a 33-7 lead heading into the final frame. From that point the Zephs never looked back, getting their tenth win of the year, their sixth in league play.

"I think that just comes from leadership we have on our team," said Radocha who finished with 18 points. "We're a seasoned team that has a lot of starters back, and with Nick, Buzz (Buskirk) and Sa-sa (Barkley), that's a lot of seniors.

"I think coach probably would have killed me if I would have missed that shot. I didn't know how much time was on the clock, but I was open so I shot it."

Radocha also said that playing in front of a partial crowd brings added incentive.

"It's a big win," said Radocha. "We come out here at home and we obviously have a lot of confidence coming off our last win, and it's just different at home. I think we're 7-0 now at home, and with just the crowd it's a lot different."

Currently, William Allen High School is the only non-division leader to have a winning record in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. The EPC playoffs will feature the three division winners plus five wildcard spots, and right now Whitehall is in the mix of making that group. However, with basically only division games remaining, the Zephs will need to avenge earlier losses to Skyline foes since a team in the Steel Division could get fat on their respective league games, preventing Whitehall from making the playoffs.

Once again it was the Zephs defensive effort that stood out, holding the Hornets to 10 points below their season average. The Zephs finished the first half with eight offensive rebounds while the Hornets didn't have any.

"That's a stat you want to come with at halftime," said Radocha, noting that rebounds are a priority before every game. "When we outrebound a team, we'll usually win."

And when the Hornets did make some noise, the tandem of Barley and Radocha made sure that that the Hornets were limited to one shot, helping to preserve the win.

"They did a tremendous job," said Jones. "I can't say enough about the effort those guys put forth."

Parkland halted the Whitehall's three-game winning streak, hanging a 53-37 loss onto the Zephs Tuesday night.

The Zephyrs were plagued by a slow start, and the Skyline-leading Trojans kept their foot on the gas the whole game en route to the 16-point victory.

Radocha led the way with 21 points, while Esquilin chipped in with six.