The district playoffs begin this week and the Whitehall boys basketball team meets a familiar foe when they tip off this Thursday evening at William Allen High School.

The Zephyrs, who enter the tourney as the 3rd seed, will meet East Stroudsburg North, the 6th seed, in the opening round of the 5A playoffs.

The game is set for Milo Sewards Gymnasium, and Whitehall will look to repeat their earlier performance against ESN when they defeated the Timberwolves 77-68 in the opener of their Zephyr Classic on Dec. 28.

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference foes come into the game having taken divergent paths heading into the 5A showdown. ESN was 3-2 over their last five games, while Whitehall was 1-4. The Timberwolves own a victory over Emmaus over that span, while the Green Hornets handed the Zephs a loss during that same five-game window.

While head coach Jeff Jones believes that ESN is now a better team than the one they faced in December, he also believes his team hasn’t played as poorly as their record indicates over their last five games.

They had some missed opportunities in many of those losses, especially at the foul line against Emmaus. It was really only the Bethlehem Catholic loss where he was disappointed.

The Timberwolves are led by guard Arian Azemi. Azemi dropped 30 in the Classic and will pose a problem for the Zephs if he’s allowed to get free. Jones said that he’s capable of making threes, hitting over 30 times from beyond the arc this season, but his ability to drive is a bigger concern.

“My main concern with him is his ability to penetrate,” said Jones. “We have to make sure we keep guys out of the lane.”

They also feature Adisa Wilkins who had 21 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference win against Emmaus, while Devante Wiggins can also fill it up from the floor.

Jones said that the T-Wolves also like to press, and at times will double the ball. He said that they’ll need to be wary of that and practiced those situations in preparation for that style.

The Zephyrs will look to counter the Timberwolves with a veteran lineup that includes two EPC all-stars. Guard Mikey Esquilin was named to the second team, while forward Logan McKinley earned third team honors. Those two will be called upon to guide the Zephs through the postseason.

They also feature senior Kayden Walschburger, who can dial it up from downtown, while senior bigs Zach Gilbert and Devin Martinez can give them solid play under the basket.

Seniors Kasai Harrison and Charles Hudson are players who can contribute at both ends of the court, and the Zephs will count on their versatility to help them advance.

Jackson Buskirk proved how valuable he can be on the floor in last year’s postseason win against Southern Lehigh, playing a tremendous all-around game, while senior Eric Johnson will get some minutes in the frontcourt to help bolster their rotation.

Jones said that Tuesday’s practice may have been the best they had in the run-up to the playoffs.

“They treated it pretty seriously,” said Jones “They really got after it.”

Jones knows that the T-Wolves will keep fighting as witnessed by their comeback after the Zephs went up by 20 at the end of the third period. ESN outscored Whitehall by 11 in that final period.

That’s why his senior group is so important. They’ve been in the playoffs before and know what’s at stake.

“They realize it’s a one and done situation,” said Jones.

The key to them advancing is that they have to make shots. Jones hopes that will be the case again in the rematch.