For the second consecutive weekend, the Whitehall basketball team was playing in the finals of a tournament held at Cedar Beach in Allentown.

This time the setting was the A-Town Throwdown, part of SportsFest’s cavalcade of competitive events that spans four days.

Whitehall arrived at the finals by beating Saucon Valley 66-55, and then Pocono Mountain West 56-38. That put them in the semifinals where they beat Reading 68-67 in one of the best games of the tourney.

Next came another All-EPC final as Whitehall was set to play Liberty in the finals. Whitehall defeated the ‘Canes 51-47 in double overtime during the Stellar Construction “Catch A Rising Star” Basketball Showcase.

Whitehall jumped out to an early lead and were up 32-15 at halftime. However, that lead started to slip away in the second half. Head coach Jeff Jones said that they started to turn the ball over, and that problem was compounded by not getting stops.

Liberty eventually took the lead on the strength of Alex Serrano who netted nine points during their 22-2 run.

Once they overtook Whitehall, they held on for the 54-48 win.

Jones said that it boiled down to execution as the second half unfolded.

“They made some plays down the end, and we didn’t,” he said.

While it was their goal to win the tournament championship, Jones said the loss wasn’t going to dampen the positive things they did this summer.

First, they made it to the playoffs in the Stellar Boys Basketball Summer League, earning the fourth seed in the tourney. After defeating fifth-seeded Liberty on Tuesday evening, they now await the winner of the Parkland-Bangor game with that contest scheduled for Thursday.

They also made it to the finals of the “Catch A Rising Star” Showcase, as well as the aforementioned A-Town Throwdown.

They played 30 games this summer and lost six.

“Overall, it’s been a really good summer,” Jones said.

Moreover, the contributions from everyone on the team has made it a really successful summer. He said that a lot of kids got to play and they’ve responded.

“A different guy has stepped up every game and played pretty well,” said Jones.

One of those players was Kayden Walschburger who dropped 24 against Reading in the semis of the A-Town Throwdown. Devin Martinez is another player who’s made an impact throughout the summer, earning the sixth man award at the Stellar tourney.

Another was Kasai Harrison who scored 15 points in the finals against Liberty.

Jones said that Harrison’s improvement this offseason has been eye-opening.

“Kasai’s really been a pleasant surprise,” said Jones.

Jackson Buskirk, Logan McGinley and Charles Hudson have also had a terrific summer, with the latter two getting named to the A-Town Throwdown all-tournament team.

The Whitehall junior varsity team also had a successful run at the A-Town Throwdown tournament. They defeated Emmaus to make it to the semifinals where they lost to Reading.