Jeff Jones has coached enough basketball games to know that while a call at the end of a game may adversely affect the outcome, it's the plays leading up to that point that truly decide the contest.

Brett Radocha's phantom foul at least that's the assessment from the Whitehall faithful put Allentown Central Catholic's Jack Nosovitch on the line for a chance to win the game as time expired.

The game was tied 47 at that point, with Nosovitch snaring a long rebound following Zay Jennings miss.

What transpired next may be debated, but Nosovitch's desperation heave clanked off the front rim while his body sank to the floor, initiating a call from the referee.

The clock was subsequently adjusted, resetting it to 0.5. Nosovitch drained the first, and then intentionally missed the second as the scramble to gain control of the ball quickly wiped out the remaining half-second. This time the buzzer officially handed the Zephs a 48-47 loss to Skyline division foe ACC.

"We turned the ball over more than we normally do," said Jones. "I said to the kids afterwards that we had opportunities, but we let them slip away. It came down to the end, and it probably shouldn't have come down to the end because we just missed so many opportunities. There were too many possessions where we didn't get a shot."

The loss ended Whitehall's eight-game home winning streak and puts them in a scramble for the eighth wildcard slot. At 6-6 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, they're currently on the outside looking in, but still have four crucial Skyline Division games remaining that may put them back in the hunt.

The Zephs raced out to a 7-0 lead, and were hot from the field throughout the first period. In that opening frame, the Zephs were finding the open man, with Radocha, Nick Hassler, Saquon Barkley and Jake Meyers all connecting from the floor as they took control early, leading 15-11 at the end of the quarter.

"Against their zone we moved the ball really well in the first quarter," said Jones.

However, in the second period they lost that initial momentum as turnovers prevented then from building on that lead.

"We got into a little bit of an offensive funk, but we weren't that concerned about it," Jones said. "I was more concerned with Jennings having 11 points at halftime and what happened with that."

Jones said one of the problems defending teams like Central and Parkland is that they can put four shooters on the floor.

"I don't care what kind of defense you're playing, that's difficult to match everybody exactly perfectly," Jones said. "So yes, they got some shots I wasn't happy they were able to get."

Once again Jennings gave them difficulties, scoring inside and out, finishing with 21 points, including three treys.

The Vikings were tasked with solving Brett Radocha, as he finished with a game-high 24 points.

The senior came alive in the final period, leading the Zephs down the stretch with bucket after bucket, including an impressive one-handed catch and basket off an alley-oop from Meyers that gave Whitehall a 47-46 lead with a little over two minutes left.

However, that would prove to be Whitehall's final basket as both teams wouldn't score until Nosovitch's bucket from the line, giving the Vikings the victory, sweeping the season series.

"Brett had more than half of our points," said Jones. "Last couple of games we have to find other guys to put a couple of points on the board. It's difficult for one guy to shoulder the load."

While the foul may have been the play that will get talked about, Jones wasn't going to enter the fray.

"I won't comment on it," Jones said. "I told our kids after the game that this one didn't come down to that call. We turned the ball over too much. Generally, the officiating has been pretty good. I told some of them a couple of weeks ago that I thought the officiating has been better than it's been in the past.

"Steve Serensits and Jack Keiter are good officials. They're the guys I'd prefer to have on most nights. It's a tough pill to swallow, but we had our opportunities and let them slip away."

Still, the game showcased two teams one that clinched a District XI 3A playoff berth and one that's on the cusp of getting to the tourney battling it out as witnessed by the loose ball scrum in the waning seconds.

"It's about as good as a high school basketball game as you're going to see," said Jones. "Two teams that really went after it, and I thought that competed pretty hard."