Northampton’s run in the East Penn Conference (EPC) ended quickly, but the Konkrete Kids are confident in their district hopes ahead.

The seventh-seeded Kids dropped a 64-48 contest to second-seeded Allentown Central Catholic in an opening–round game Monday night at Rockne Hall.

It was the rubber match between the two teams as Central won the opening match, 66-36, Dec. 19, and Northampton returned the favor, 60-45, Jan. 18.

Aidan Ellwood paced the Kids with 20 points, and Central had four players in double figures led by Dat Lambert’s 18 and Jordan McChristian’s 13.

“Central is a very good team,” said Kids’ head coach Coy Stampone. “They got a team of outstanding shooters. Jay Vaughan is an unselfish point guard, and he can also hit the three. They got an inside game with (Keeshawn) Kellman, a very athletic big man.

“Central shot the ball extremely well from three. We played them twice during the season. At Rockne Hall, they shot the ball well. At our place we beat them and they did not shoot the ball as well. They play a very aggressive man defense and their center stayed in the paint. That is difficult for any penetration. When you play aggressive man defense, the drive to the basket could be open however with a shot blocker like Kellman waiting for you, it makes it a little more challenging.”

Now, the Kids will have to wait until the district playoffs begin for them on Saturday, Feb. 24. They will have a home scrimmage against Catasauqua next week.

Currently, the Kids are the number three seed in the Class 6A bracket and would open play against Parkland with whom they split their season series.

But the current 6A power rankings are likely to be scrambled especially if fourth-seeded Allen would win the EPC tournament and depending upon the overall finish of the tournament.

Easton and East Stroudsburg South currently are seeded ahead of Northampton in the bracket.

Stampone believes his team can make an impact in the upcoming district playoffs.

He is thankful that both Central and Bethlehem Catholic are in the Class 5A bracket.

“We battled to the end (against Central),” he said. “I am proud of our players. Rockne Hall is a tough place to play against a real talented team. It was exciting to get Northampton boys basketball back into the league playoffs. Hopefully, we can build off this for the future but most importantly into district play this year.

“We are not done yet. I feel the district field is wide open.”