As the six seed in the District 11 Class 4A boys basketball tournament, Northwestern Lehigh (12-12) came into its quarterfinal game against Bethlehem Catholic (18-6), the tournament’s number three seed, as an underdog. The Golden Hawks controlled play throughout the first quarter, but the Tigers proved to be a worthy opponent and battled Bethlehem Catholic to the final seconds of the game before falling 50-45, ending their season.

Northwestern Lehigh showed some signs of youth early in the game as the Hawks moved out to a 14-6 lead with under a minute left in the first quarter. Then, someone flipped a switch and the Tigers showed themselves to be a different team, going on a 10-4 run to make it a two-point game before Steven Recchio dropped a buzzer beater to put Bethlehem Catholic up 20-16 going into halftime.

As he has done often throughout his career at Northwestern Lehigh, senior Dylan Witkowski hit a three-pointer and followed it with a jumper to bring Northwestern within one at 22-21 with 4:48 left in the third quarter. Another senior, Ethan Lazarus, nailed a shot from just in front of the basket with 2:35 left in the quarter to give the Tigers their first lead of the game at 25-24.

Momentum continued to swing and by the time the buzzer sounded, the Golden Hawks had reclaimed a slight advantage at 31-29, this time using a last-second shot from Edixon Gomez to close out the quarter.

Just as Gomez closed out the third quarter, he opened the fourth, but this time did so by nailing a three-pointer and establishing a seven-point Hawks lead at 36-29.

“I was proud of our guys because of the way that they never got down on themselves and they didn’t concede anything to them all night,” said Northwestern head coach Cory Cesare. “They are a good, physical team and we sometimes struggle against teams that play a sort of in-your-face style of defense, but we handled it well tonight and kept bouncing back.”

The next swing came when Northwestern completed a 9-4 run with a three from Cade Christopher and a drive through the lane by Witkowski to make it 40-38 Beca with 4:31 left in regulation. A turnaround jumper by Gavin Nelson followed by another basket from Witkowski gave the Tigers a 45-44 lead with just 1:38 left to play. Bethlehem Catholic used a timeout to regroup, and senior Jared Richardson was fouled while hitting a jump shot and then dropped in the free throw to put the Hawks up by two.

Northwestern failed to make a final run and Gomez hit on two key free throws with under a minute left to open a four-point lead with just two seconds left to play to put the game away for Beca.

“It’s been a long season and it really has been a roller-coaster ride and has gone up and down at times, but to have them compete to the last second like that was everything I could have wished for,” said Cesare, a former Tigers assistant coach who took over as head coach just six weeks before the season opener. “Our guys stayed under control and kept our composure all year and it was no different tonight.

“We are a young team, and we start two freshmen, but the three seniors that we have really worked to keep our team together and keep us going this season,” said Cesare. “I need to take some time to really reflect on the season, but I have to say that I learned a ton this year. I have learned a lot about what it takes to be successful in this position and how to manage personalities and I have enjoyed the experience. I plan to come back next year and for as long as they will have me.”

Northwestern has just three seniors – Josh Heilman, Lazarus and Witkowski - on its roster. Cesare was quick to credit them with helping the team to get as far as they did this season and noted that they each brought special talents to the team that paid dividends.

Meanwhile among the young players, the smallest of them, freshman Eli Zimmerman, who checks in at an even five-feet tall, has become an unlikely spark plug for Northwestern Lehigh. After not seeing much playing time earlier in the season, Zimmerman kept showing his worth in practice and played more minutes in the two playoff games than he did all season. Opponents have learned not to underestimate his toughness, especially defensively. Gomez, a senior, has become a believer.

“When I saw him the first time, I said ‘this kid is not that good, he’s so little.’” admitted Gomez. “Now, I say ‘the kid works hard, and he’s got good talent and he’s likely to go far.’”

Bethlehem Catholic went on to defeat Allentown Central Catholic 46-41 in the semifinals and will face Wilson for the class 4A boys championship Friday night.