It would be fair to say that last weekend's Stellar Basketball Tournament at Cedar Beach brought some surprises and two of Bethlehem's teams were right in the middle of fortunate performances.

Both Freedom and Bethlehem Catholic reached Sunday's semifinal rounds to the surprise of many, including their own head coaches, to make a lasting impression in the summer's marquee tournament.

After losing to Parkland in Sunday's winner bracket, Becahi lost to eventual champion Archbishop Carroll 59-42 to eliminate them from the tournament.

However, losing their only two games of the tournament to the two finalists was a great sign for Becahi, who finished last winter 3-19.

With new head coach Ray Barbosa taking over the reigns of the program this season, the Hawks might be back sooner than anyone expected.

"It was a mix of being surprised and what we expected," said Barbosa of Becahi's results in the tournament. "We've struggled in the summer league a little, but we've been working in the gym all summer and we had all of our guys for Stellar, except Antwan Keenan and Julian Spigner."

Without Keenan or Spigner, who will be considered two of the Hawks most dynamic athletes on the floor next winter, the proposition of Becahi's potential could be scary next season.

Senior transfer Kweku Dawson-Amoah, a 6-foot-5 forward from Phillipsburg, along with Justin Paz (guard), highlighted the Hawks efforts over the weekend, as Becahi posted wins over Palmyra, Trinity, Twin Valley, West York and Central Catholic.

"We wanted to play our best this weekend because I knew what these guys were capable of," Barbosa said. "When we start to mesh together and change the culture of the program, I think these guys are going to be even more confident. Hopefully, that confidence and momentum will carry to SportsFest [this weekend]."

Freedom lost to Parkland 57-48 in Sunday's semifinals, but head coach Joe Stellato was more than pleased with his team's performance from the tournament.

"I honestly didn't know what to expect from our guys," said Stellato of his expectations going into the tournament. "I expected to get to Sunday, but we played really good basketball. Even in our loss to Parkland, we played good. We didn't have all our guys during the summer, but we made a point to take this tournament serious, so we're very encouraged."

Junior guard Nick King was named to the Stellar Tournament first-team, as he led Freedom's efforts during the tournament alongside Najee Cash.

Freedom defeated Notre Dame-GP, Phillipsburg, Glen Mills, Qaukertown and Washington during the tournament.

Liberty found themselves with a 2-2 mark when things were all said and done, as they started out by beating Hazleton and Lincoln Leadership, before falling to Wilson West Lawn and Washington to bounce them out of the tournament.

King wasn't the only Bethlehem player to be named to the first-team, as Becahi's Dawson-Amoah was also selected. The rest of the tournament accolades are listed below.

STELLAR

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

First Team

Devante Cross, Parkland; Kweku Dawson-Amoah, Bethlehem Catholic; Aidan Ellwood, Central Catholic; Nick King, Freedom; Zaheem Garrett, Archbishop Carroll.

Second Team

Dante Rockmore, Dieruff; Christian Sload, Wilson West Lawn; Jeff Cooper, Wilson; Matt Kachelries, Emmaus; Matt Gnias, Spring-Ford.

Sixth man: Michael Zeky, Parkland.

MVP: John Rigsby, Archbishop Carroll.

Most outstanding coach: Paul Romanczuk, Archbishop Carroll.