Icy conditions may have forced the cancellation of the Whitehall boys basketball game against Parkland for a shot at a league championship on Monday night, but once they hit the floor on Tuesday, it appeared the cold front moved into the Trojans gymnasium.

Now, 70 points combined for these two Eastern Pennsylvania Conference rivals would seem to indicate a cold night shooting from the floor by both teams. Heck, Parkland averaged just five points less than that combined total as a team this season. In their previous games the teams combined for 212 points, further underscoring the appearance of a frigid night from the field.

But the Zephs wanted to take the air out of the ball and deflate Parkland's up-tempo style.

And it worked.

They held the Trojans to just 40 points, well below their season average. While they slowed down Parkland, they couldn't generate enough offense of their own, losing 40-30, ending their bid for an EPC championship.

"We did exactly what we wanted to do," said head coach Jeff Jones whose team will now prepare for districts.

They effectively frustrated the Trojans by making them play at their pace, sticking to their game plan in an effort to upset the fifth-ranked 4A team in the state.

It almost worked as the Zephs cut the lead to 24-22 midway through the third quarter. It was a big hill to climb after the Trojans jumped out to a 15-4 lead. They were able to cut the lead to two points after Mikey Esquilin got hacked on a drive, sinking the free throw to complete the three-point play. That was followed by a Jake Meyers trey to make it a one-possession game.

They continued to stay within striking distance during the final period as they cut the lead to four with a little over four minutes left to play. Jones said they had the opportunity to make it a one possession game, but failed to convert a lay-up. Jones said the shot was contested, but it was still a missed opportunity that could have helped them get over the hump.

Once again, Parkland answered back. This time Kenny Yeboah grabbed an offensive board and promptly sank the put back, extending the lead to six. From that point, the Zephs could never draw any closer as the Trojans paraded to the charity stripe, scoring 10 of their 12 points of the final frame from the line.

Playing from behind the entire game takes its toll, and Jones knew they needed to get it down to at least three to give themselves a chance of knocking out the reigning district champs.

"It's difficult once it goes more than one possession." said Jones. "To their credit, we couldn't cut it under four."

While they lost a third time to their rivals, the Zephs may have given the other finalists a template to beat Parkland. It was a strategy that Jones knew was their best chance of success.

"We were deliberate," he said. "We were patient on offense. It's not the type of team we can run up and down with."

The Trojans only had two players reach double figures with both Kyle Stout and Sam Iorio finishing with 10 points.

The Zephs were led by Brett Radocha and Gianni Sinatore who each had eight points, while Meyers had seven and Nick Hassler chipped in with four.

Jones was proud of the effort by his team. They gave themselves an opportunity to win, and that was their goal heading into the game.

"Everybody played hard," said Jones. "That's a good team. We felt we did what we needed to do, and to their credit they were able to withstand what we wanted to do."