The quest for their third-straight District 11 4A title continues this week for Bethlehem Catholic, as the Golden Hawks hope to lock themselves into Friday’s potential championship matchup with Central Catholic.

The 4A semifinals took place on Tuesday night, past Press deadlines, but it was a safe bet that both Becahi and ACCHS, the number one and two seeds respectively, would find their way toward another meeting this season.

But first thing was first for the Hawks with Tuesday’s showdown against Wilson, a team the Hawks haven’t seen this year, much like their first round opponent Pine Grove last week, where the Hawks easily handled the eighth-seeded Cardinals 70-48.

Wilson, who hasn’t played an EPC team this season, figures to be a heavy underdog, but head coach Scott McClary hopes his team can stay focused and take care of business in the semifinal round and not look past Wilson’s pedigree.

“It is both fun and challenging to play teams at this time of year that you have not seen during the regular season,” said McClary. “Wilson is a very good team and has finished the year playing well.”

The Warriors knocked off Northern Lehigh 66-52 in the quarters behind Robby Swiatek’s 23 points. McClary knows he’ll be the focus of Becahi’s defensive game plan for Tuesday’s affair.

“They have a great player in Swaitek, who scores the ball at a high level,” McClary said. “They also have a host of athletes that are able to play an aggressive style of basketball. Their offense is constantly attacking you, even if they are patient with their shot selection. Sam Brown is excellent in attack mode for them. They have the ability to play multiple defenses in attempt to get you on your heels. They are well coached for sure.”

Becahi will look to take advantage of Kyle Young’s size in the middle, which will open up the floor for the rest of the team.

“Our key will be to take advantage of Kyle as much as possible,” said McClary. “He is a player they do not have an answer for individually. We need to run our offense through him. If Wilson dedicates multiple players to Young, we need to make them pay with easier looks on the perimeter. We need to control the glass and we need to stop their transition game while doing a tremendous job on Swaitek individually.”

Central Catholic takes on Northwestern in the other semifinal. Should both schools win on Tuesday, Friday’s meeting would mark their first encounter of the season.

In 6A, Freedom saw its season end in cruel fashion Saturday afternoon, as Christian Sapp nailed a three-point miracle at the buzzer to end the Pates season in a 46-43 loss.

Freedom finished the season at 16-8, but return a major portion of their roster next year, which is something head coach Joe Stellato can take as a positive heading into the offseason.

“That was a difficult game to accept,” said Stellato, “but I am proud of the players for battling the way they did. Reuben Soto, one of our top players, went down in the first two minutes of the game, and we shot 33-pecent from the foul line. So, I was glad that we still had a chance to win the game. We hit some big shots and played great defense, but we just couldn’t finish out the game.

“What had a great season. We had some really big wins and played great defense. When you have players like we did, who bought into the system we installed and had unselfish seniors that, in some cases, were willing to take a back seat to some very athletic juniors, it makes it for a fun year with very little drama. I am very proud of the team and can’t wait to get started for next year.”

Liberty lost in the first round of the tournament to Pocono Mountain West by a 62-58 score last week. The Panthers outscored the Hurricanes 39-24 in the second half to ultimately end their season. The Hurricanes ended the season 12-11 overall.