Bethlehem Catholic 64, Whitehall 54 — Rapid Recap
The Bethlehem Catholic boys basketball team kept rolling Friday night, running out to a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter and holding off Whitehall the rest of the way for a 64-54 win at home in the EPC quarterfinals.

Turning point: The Golden Hawks showed no hangover from their huge win over Allen Wednesday night and instead rode that momentum into a good practice Thursday and an even better start Friday night. They nailed a trio of consecutive threes to close out the first quarter with a 25-14 lead and led the rest of the way.

The Zephyrs closed within four points late in the second quarter and early in the third, but never got any closer as their offense could never find a rhythm.

Top performer: Sophomore guard Justin Paz paced Bethlehem Catholic with 17 points while senior guard Amir Pettiford tallied 16 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Senior forward Zach Gilbert played well for Whitehall, leading the way with 18 points and also limiting Golden Hawks 6-foot-9 standout Ryan Young to just six points with some tough defense.

What it means: Bethlehem Catholic advances to Tuesday’s semifinals at a site and time to be determined to play East Stroudsburg North, which knocked off No. 1 Emmaus in the biggest upset of the night, 52-49. The other semifinal will feature No. 2 Allen vs. No. 3 Pocono Mountain West.

The Zephyrs still have the District 11 tournament to get ready for, but coach Jeff Jones said he needs to see his team play more like a team in order to have more than one game left in the season.

Greg Joyce may be reached at gjoyce@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @GJoyce9. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

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