As the basketball season winds down, teams are looking to play their best ball at the end of the year.

Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty are trying to find their path towards that goal.

The Hawks (9-9) were winners of four straight before losing two straight games to Liberty and Nazareth and head coach Scott McClary wants his team to find their way again.

“Yes, we had a nice win streak going and we were really defending well through that stretch,” said McClary. “We played a very talented Liberty team that played extremely well on a night we did not play very well. We have had constant change on our roster of guys missing stretches and then guys coming back in. That is always a major adjustment and takes some time to reset your team and roles and figure out.”

Liberty handled the Hawks 55-26 last week and then Nazareth beat Beca in similar fashion 50-25 a few nights later.

With four games left on the schedule, including two this week against Freedom and league contender Northampton (15-3), the Hawks are looking to clinch a District 11 4A berth.

“That challenge will continue with our final games and add to that the weather will likely push all of us into a schedule that is very hard to manage,” McClary said. “We will need to be smart about how we do that as we are managing half our roster through injuries and the upcoming back to backs will make it tricky to have consistency there. I am looking for a senior group that keeps us focused down the stretch to keep getting better each day, to keep taking on each challenge one at a time, and to be desperate in reaching our goals of qualifying for the post season. It is all still in our hands and in front of us.”

Liberty (11-8) is on a two-game slide with defeats coming at the hands of Northampton and Lower Merion last week.

The Hurricanes have already clinched a District 11 6A berth and have games against Easton and Freedom this week, followed by next Monday’s season finale against Nazareth.

Head coach Nigel Long wants to see continued improvement down the stretch from his group, as they look to be playing their best when the EPC and district tournaments get underway.

“The season so far has been highly competitive,” said Long. “Our league is always tough, not to mention our Northampton County division. With still a ton of work to do, I am proud of the improvements by our team so far this season.

“We have to consistently start games better. Getting down early creates a huge hole for us to dig ourselves out of which becomes tough to do as we wind down the regular season.”

Freedom (1-18) has games this week against city rivals Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty and finish out next week against Northampton.