After his team’s first 19 games, Whitehall’s boys’ basketball coach Jeff Jones is hoping that his team can still find its niche and identity.

The Zephyrs may be ready to follow the same script they had from their 19-9 season last year. In early to mid-January, Whitehall pieced together a five-game winning streak after they reeled off an impressive eight-game run that began in mid-December.

Entering this week’s play, the Zephyrs had a 8-11 overall mark with three games left. They had impressive victories over Pocono Mountain East (58-43) and East Stroudsburg North (73-37), Emmaus (53-39) and Dieruff (44-41) but mixed in was a loss to Nazareth and then two straight to Northampton and Parkland.

Senior Jack Lloyd, who is averaging roughly 14 points per game, helped Whitehall set the pace against Pocono Mountain East with eight of his 16 points in the opening stanza.

Fellow senior Seth Hoderewski, the Zephyr’s leading scorer averaging 17 points per contest, finished the game with a team-high 21 points, and senior Talon Dogmantis added 10 in the victory.

“We had a good start against Pocono Mountain East,” stressed Jones. “We got off to an 18-8 lead and Lloyd had a hot hand at the start. Tanner Dogmantis also was a big plus for us, as he has eight points before halftime.

“Pocono Mountain East played better in their third quarter, but we controlled the fourth by pushing the lead up to 20 at some point.

Against East Stroudsburg North, the Zephyrs managed to take control of the game in the early moments. Lloyd finished with 18 points, Hoderewski had 14, and Cole Rozycki added a career-high 15 points.

“We got off to another good start,” added Jones. “We scored the game’s first 17 points, and we ended the first quarter with a 22-5 lead. Rozycki had 11 of his points in the first half, and Hoderewski had 12 and Lloyd added 14 in the opening half that staked us to a 30-point advantage (43-13) at halftime.

“The mercy rule was in place for the entire second half, and Whitehall’s bench players got valuable playing time in the fourth quarter. Omari Ratliff played well off the bench and he had eight points for us.”

“We shot 74 percent from the field, and that was a big plus for us.”

The Zephs will travel to Allen before finishing with Central and Emmaus. Allen is 14-4 so far this season while Central sits at 11-8 and Emmaus is 8-10.

The Zephs lost to Dieruff 46-44 earlier this season and also lost to Allen 57-47.

Jones believes his team can finish strong with a good sense of team chemistry down the stretch.

“We have a big week ahead,” said Jones. “We have had balanced scoring, and we just need to keep working.”