Bethlehem Catholic rolled into District 11 Class 5A final at Allentown’s PPL Center against rival Allentown Central Catholic as one of the hottest teams in the Lehigh Valley.

The Golden Hawks had won nine of their last 10 games and easily disposed of North Schuylkill (76-54) and Jim Thorpe (60-39) on the road there. They were shooting the ball extremely well, and playing solid team defense.

Unfortunately, their shooting hit a cold spell against Central Catholic.

The Golden Hawks struggled early, and they could never get in sync as they suffered a 57-42 defeat to Central Catholic, who defeated Becahi for the second consecutive year. Central won its third district title in the past four years.

Becahi shot just 3-or-15 in the second quarter and managed just eight points in the stanza. They also lost junior starter Steve Recchio to an injury, and they went on to trail Central, 33-18, at halftime.

The Golden Hawks managed to cut the deficit to 47-37 with just over five minutes left in the game, but they couldn’t get any closer.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, and Central did,” offered Becahi head coach Scott McClary. “We couldn’t get anything going, but our guys kept battling.

“Central Catholic did an outstanding job and credit to them.”

Junior Jared Richardson, who returned late in the season due to a football injury, provided a second-half spark with six points in the third quarter.

“We were so disappointed when we learned of Jared’s injury,” said McClary. “His length, his strength, his athleticism and how hard he competes, it gave us more depth and certainly took us to a new level. We’re ecstatic that he was able to join us here at the end.”

Fellow junior Edixon Gomez and Ryan Glassmacher led the Hawks with 10 points apiece. Gomez was a first-team East Penn Conference First Team Choice.

The Golden Hawks finished with an overall 12-5 mark and will lose only Caden McClary, the coach’s son. They will return their full complement next winter and figure to be a strong contender for the EPC crown.

McClary hit three consecutive three pointers in the Hawks’ final home game against Jim Thorpe.

As a coach any time your senior, in his last home game, can have big moments, you’re ecstatic,” said his father. “As a father, it’s times 10,” Scott McClary said. “He’s going to have a great memory of his last game here on Madison Avenue. Super proud of him as a dad and super proud of him as a coach.”