Nothing softens the blow in the loss of a district basketball final. Not even a berth in states, and not even having overcome an insurmountable deficit in a semifinal days earlier.

This was the feeling of Bethlehem Catholic boys’ basketball coach Scott McClary after the Hawks fell to Allentown Central Catholic, 52-48, in the District XI Class 4A championship game last Friday at Easton Area Middle School.

“Our guys wanted to win, they competed to win, we respect Central, they’re fine champions,” McClary said. “Neither team was tired. They just fought hard.”

Becahi’s fight controlled the first quarter, but Central’s controlled the fourth.

Becahi’s Ryan Santana and Julian Thomas combined for seven straight points, and Isaiah Alexander and Ryan Glassmacher combined for seven more straight points to give the Hawks a 14-3 lead.

Matt Stianche’s putback and a dunk by Glassmacher ended the second quarter when the Hawks led 21-17.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and those played out fine. I don’t think that’s where the issue was,” said McClary.

Halfway through the third quarter, the Vikings tied the game at 27-27 on a three by Liam Joyce and later took the lead on a three by Nick Filchner early in the fourth, a spark for Central’s offense.

“I thought we forced some possessions in offense against the zone that led to some transitions for them and then when we did settle down and got a couple of good shots against the zone, we just couldn’t get them to drop,” McClary said.

Santana hit three threes in the last four minutes but the damage by Central seemed to be done, specifically by Joyce, Filchner, and Jaylen Green.

“They got a couple good shots, and they did make them, and that, to me, was the difference,” said McClary.

The Hawks’ season will continue in the PIAA State Class 4A Tournament on March 6.