The last time the Parkland boys basketball team faced Whitehall, it scored just 53 points in a loss.
In the rematch Friday night, the Trojans hit 53 points midway through the third quarter and kept on running all over the Zephyrs for a 90-78 win in an EPC Skyline Division showdown at Coach Tracy Court.
“We’ve come a long way,” Parkland coach Andy Stephens said. “We’re just playing with more confidence, playing better together, believing in each other a little bit more. I think that shows we’ve worked hard and come a long way.”
The surging Trojans (13-6, 10-4 EPC) have now won 11 of their last 12 games since starting the season 2-5, their lone loss coming against Linden (N.J.) in the Hoop Group Showcase.
Back on their EPC tear Friday, they got a typically big-time performance out of senior guard/forward Sam Iorio, who led the way with 31 points, but also put four more scorers into double digits — including a spark-plug effort from senior guard Michael Zeky, who scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half.
“It felt great, we put up 90 points on a good team,” said Zeky, who tied a career-high. “We’ve played so much better over the past (12) games since starting off 2-5. We’ve played so much better as a team, defensively, rebounding, all the little things.”
On many of his buckets, Zeky went almost untouched in the paint.
“Some of it was just backdoor cuts, things like that,” he said. “We set a lot of screens in our offense when we’re not running plays, so a lot of it is just trying to outsmart your opponent and get those cuts.”
As enjoyable as it was for Zeky and his teammates, it was equally frustrating for the Zephyrs (15-5, 13-3 EPC), who have now dropped back-to-back games.
“We didn’t get stops,” Whitehall coach Jeff Jones said. “We were pressuring and then once they break pressure, you gotta find a man and you gotta find a man really fast. I thought our quickness would allow us to do that against them. They skip the ball and pass the ball and move the ball so unselfishly, they got some good looks. If they get good looks, they’re making them.”
The Zephyrs did lead early on, 9-3, before an 11-0 run — all powered by Iorio and Zeky — gave Parkland the lead for good. It grew as large as 17 points in the second half, but never got smaller than seven no matter what Whitehall tried to throw at the Trojans.
“We just played with energy,” Iorio said. “We know we’re a good basketball team. We just had to find that groove and we got in it. Once we get up, we’re hard to beat.”
Parkland also demonstrated why it can be a tough matchup for opponents. All five starters are equally capable of driving to the rim as they are setting up from beyond the arc to nail a three — all five starters finished with at least one triple on Friday.
The Trojans also have the length to create some mismatches, beating opponents in plenty of different ways: Iorio is 6-foot-6, Zeky is 6-foot-5, Zach Bross is 6-foot-4, Michael Ruisch is 6-foot-4 and Jake Bartholomew is 6-foot-3. Even their first option off the bench, sophomore Logan Rindock, is 6-foot-3.
“Obviously they have a tremendous amount of size,” Jones said. “No matter who you put on Iorio, he’s got a mismatch. Whether it’s him on the perimeter or his strength getting to the basket, it’s difficult.”
Jones said “it certainly didn’t help” that his main two players guarding Iorio, Logan McGinley and Devin Martinez, were each quick to pick up two fouls. The third Zephyr to defend Iorio, Jackson Buskirk, eventually fouled out of the game.
In a physical, and at times chippy, game that included a pair of intentional fouls and rising tensions late, Parkland always had an answer to Whitehall’s push.
“When (Zeky) scores for us like that, that’s a good sign,” Stephens said. “Michael played a great game.”
After a Saturday non-league game with Scranton Prep, the Trojans will look to bring all of their momentum into Monday night’s showdown with unbeaten Allen.
“The guys believe in each other,” Stephens said. “Sam’s playing great, but he has faith in his teammates and his teammates have faith in him. It reciprocates and they’re doing a great job.”
The Zephyrs, who got 23 points from junior guard Mikey Esquilin, know where they have to turn their attention to as the postseason — which often brings a rematch with Parkland — nears.
‘We’ve talked about the defensive end all season long,” Jones said. “We’re concerned about defense. We gave up a ton of points to a team that’s scoring a ton of points right now. But they got too many easy looks. If they’re making threes and we get a hand in their face, that’s something. But when the guy’s uncontested shooting a three, that’s another thing. Or when a guy gets to the rim pretty much uncontested, that’s unacceptable.”
Greg Joyce may be reached at gjoyce@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @GJoyce9. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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