Bethlehem may have had a heavy contingent in the boys' basketball playoff scene, but the city came away empty-handed over the weekend when Freedom and Bethlehem Catholic both fell in the 4A and 3A finals.

Freedom was outgunned by Parkland in a 65-50 contest on Saturday night, while Becahi was overwhelmed by Central Catholic 87-61 on Friday.

Both move on to the state playoffs this weekend, but the one team that has had the most experience at the state level of any local team recently will be making an appearance again, as Liberty topped Stroudsburg Saturday afternoon 66-53 in the third place consolation round.

It's the seventh time out of the last eight years the program has reached the state playoffs and the fourth time under head coach Chad Landis' tenure.

The Hurricanes (19-8) open up on Saturday night against District 4 champion Williamsport (22-2) at Montoursville High School.

After feeling the sting of losing to Parkland 62-59 in the district semifinals, Landis was glad his team was able to put that past them in last week's game against Stroudsburg and extend their season at least another week.

"I think we had to put that loss behind us," Landis said in reference to Parkland. "I was afraid that we wouldn't play well against Stroudsburg, but our guys came out and did their job. It's always a good opportunity to have a chance to go play in states. It'll be a good experience for our guys."

The Millionaires are a high pressure defensive team that thrive on their intensity to generate points offensively.

Landis expects plenty of pressure on his guards and knows that keeping the ball secure and turnover free are going to be keys if the 'Canes want to see another round in the PIAA tournament.

"They're a very athletic team that likes to get up and down the court," he said. "We knew we were going to have to travel for games like this and this is exactly why we scheduled tough non-league games this season.

"Now we're going to find out if all those experiences we had are helpful."

Freedom (17-9) may have lucked out the best out of Parkland (21-7) and Liberty with the brackets, since they don't have Chester (24-3) in their end.

Chester is by far the most talented team this year, as the District One champions are the top seeds.

Freedom opens with Upper Darby (18-8), the sixth seed from District One, at 3 pm Saturday at Allen.

Bethlehem Catholic (13-11) will play at Freedom at 6 pm Saturday evening against District One runner-up Pope John Paul II (15-9).