When Faith Christian Academy stepped onto the floor in the championship game of the annual Zephyr Holiday Classic, Whitehall’s defense prevented the Lions from finding any good cheer as they got flattened in the finals by the red hot Zephs.

The Lions couldn’t get much going offensively against the Zephyrs, whose pressure resulted in a number of turnovers, allowing Whitehall to take a 44-16 lead into the break. The Zephs also allowed just one offensive rebound the entire half, as the Lions were kept off the glass thanks to a strong effort by Logan McGinley, Devin Martinez, Charles Hudson and Zach Gilbert.

As the Lions were struggling to dent Whitehall’s defense, the Zephyrs offense was on full throttle as they got contributions from everyone on the floor during the first half.

With such a commanding lead at the break, the Zephs cruised to a 75-51 win, winning another Holiday Classic. The last time they lost was in 2012 to North Hunterdon High School. Prior to that they had won five straight Classics. The win lifts their record to 8-1 on the season, putting them on a collision course with 6-1 Emmaus on Tuesday night.

The defense certainly set the stage in the championship game. At times the Lions looked befuddled on how to break the press. Head coach Jeff Jones said that after the game their defense was the topic of discussion in the locker room.

“If we play defense the way we did in the first half, I think we’re going to win a lot of games,” said Jones.

He was also pleased with their effort at the other end of the floor.

“I’m pretty comfortable with us offensively, we have a number of guys who can score,” said Jones, noting that six or seven players are capable of scoring in double figures. “If we get a good defensive effort, we have a pretty good chance of winning.”

He also liked their energy in the first half which allowed them to build a 19-point lead after the first quarter.

Although they got a little sloppy in the second half, Jones was pleased with their overall game in the finals.

“It was a great effort; we passed the ball, we shared the ball really well tonight, something we’ve been talking about and emphasizing,” said Jones.

Jones said that even though they’ve been playing this up-tempo style for about a year-and-a-half, there’s still a learning curve, alluding to their loss to Hazelton. However, he believes his players are getting it.

“As long as we get defensive rebounds then we have the ability to get into transition where we have guys who can finish around the rim,” said Jones.

Logan McGinley is one of those players who can finish around the rim. The senior took home the tourney MVP, finishing with 34 points over the two games to earn the award. He scored 16 in the opener against East Stroudsburg North, and followed that with a team-high 18 against the Lions.

The Zephs other rim finishers included Kasai Harrison who finished with 12 points, while Hudson dropped in nine and Jacob Buskirk added eight.

The all-tourney team also featured senior Kayden Walschburger who netted 16 points in the tourney.

The Zephyrs up-tempo attack begins with Mikey Esquilin. Esquilin had a number of assists that led to layups that helped fuel their big lead. He was also effective shooting the ball, finishing the game with 16 points.

“I’m just playing like myself,” said Esquilin. “We were able to play a little more free today and were actually able to play like we’ve been playing since elementary school.”

Esquilin’s ability to drive or dish has helped the Zephs average over 70 points this season. He also sees a variety of defenses designed to help mitigate his ability to impact the game.

“They were mixing it up tonight,” said Esquilin. “You can’t really play one defense against us the way we were running today.”

Esquilin said that playing up-tempo gives them an edge. It’s been a hallmark of the team since he’s run the point.

“As long as we can run, we should be able to beat up on teams, I believe,” he said.

Esquilin also said that when they all elected to practice last Friday when school was out, that showed “one hundred percent commitment.” Esquilin said there’s still a lot more basketball to play this season and a lot more to accomplish.

“We still have to get better collectively as a team,” said Esquilin.

With the Green Hornets on the horizon who feature the dynamic Kachelries twins, Esquilin knows it will be a big task stopping them.

“As long as we can contain those two, I think we should be pretty good,” said Esquilin. “I think our big men are capable enough of handling [Emmaus’s] big men, so we should be all right.”

He knows they won’t be able to stop the twins from scoring, they just need to minimize their impact. Esquilin has been playing against them, and at times with them, since elementary school so he knows them extremely well.