The second rung in their quest for a district title proved to be too slippery for the Zephyr boys basketball team when they met the Bangor Slaters at Pleasant Valley High School two weeks ago.

The main culprit in their failure to ascend any further was senior guard Michael Martino, who tallied 22 points in the Slaters 53-49 win over Whitehall.

When the Zephyrs took the lead with consecutive buckets by Jackson Buskirk and Charles Hudson with just over fives minutes left in the third period, he answered with a three to put the Slaters back on top. And when Mikey Esquilin drained a foul shot to knot it at 34-34 moments later, Martino once again stepped up and delivered a decisive blow, knocking down another three-pointer that took the momentum way from Whitehall.

That was the last hurrah for the Zephyrs who managed to cut the lead to three late in the final quarter, but that was as close as they got once Martino drained another trey to push the lead back to six, giving the Bangor enough cushion the rest of the way to preserve the victory.

The loss now ends the Zephyrs season. They finish the 2015-16 campaign 13-11 overall, and 8-8 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

Head coach Jeff Jones said that they tried multiple defenses on Martino as well as different defenders to see if they could slow him down and upset his rhythm.

“No matter what we tried, he found a way to get open,” said Jones. “He had the kind of night a senior has.”

Martino’s experience also played a factor. Jones said that he’s been a starting guard for four years, and the Zephs got a glimpse of him last year when he scored seven points in the 4A quarters. That experience, coupled with a personal desire to see his team advance in the playoffs before his career was over, may have fueled his big game.

“He was able to make plays,” said Jones. “He hit five threes. He was really the difference in the game.”

While he was the most prominent reason the Slaters advanced, the Zephs also got a good dose of Dylan Benton who scored 13 points and Reece Jones who chipped in with 12.

Last year it was Jacob Meyers who had the hot hand from beyond the arc, propelling the Zephs to victory in their quarterfinal match against the Slaters. This year they were on the other end of that marksmanship as Martino lit it up from downtown.

Whitehall was trying to make its own mark offensively against Bangor’s 2-3 zone. Jones said that their zone prevented them from penetrating as mush as they would have liked.

The Zephs were led by Logan McGinley who finished the game with 17 points.

“He had a really nice game,” said Jones.

Jones said that McGinley was able to get into the middle of that zone for some of those 17 points.

While they were within striking distance for much of the second half, Jones said that they just weren’t able to score from the outside which would have softened that zone.

“We just didn’t hit enough perimeter shots to stretch their defense,” he said.

The Zephs also got solid contributions from Esquilin who finished with nine points, while Hudson dropped in seven, Kayden Walschburger netted six, and Jackson Buskirk and Devin Martinez each added four.

Jones said that Bangor was a solid team that won the Colonial League championship for a reason. They have a talented roster along with senior leadership.

“There’s a reason they’re in the 4A tournament,” said Jones. “They’ve got a good team that’s well coached.”