Bethlehem Catholic 60, East Stroudsburg North 58 — Rapid Recap
The Bethlehem Catholic boys basketball team led for nearly 35 minutes Tuesday night in the EPC semifinals, and by as many points as 18, only to see it all slip away when Darin Bellinger nailed a three to give East Stroudsburg North its first lead with about 40 seconds left in the game.
And even after missing a shot and allowing the Timberwolves to go shoot a one-and-one with 16 seconds left, the Golden Hawks weren’t dead yet.
A missed front end of the one-and-one gave them one more chance and Will Melson didn’t let it go to waste as the junior guard calmly drilled a three with 2.8 seconds left to lift Bethlehem Catholic past East Stroudsburg North 60-58 at Pleasant Valley High School.
Turning point: The Golden Hawks’ biggest lead of the game at 39-21 near the end of the second quarter. It stayed in double digits all through the third quarter, but then the Timberwolves staged a 13-0 run over the last five minutes of the game to take the 58-57 lead on Bellinger’s trey.
Arian Azemi had a chance to make it a three-point game with 16 seconds left on a one-and-one, but he front-rimmed the first and allowed Melson the chance to be the hero.
After Melson’s three made it 60-58, East Stroudsburg North called a timeout, then advanced the ball to half court and called another with 2.2 seconds left. The Timberwolves could never get a shot off, though, as a pass toward the rim bounced off the backboard and landed in Jordan Odle’s hands as the clock ran out.
Top performer: Melson led the way with 16 points, including five 3-pointers, while Bethlehem Catholic’s 6-foot-9 junior forward Ryan Young added 15 points on a gritty effort inside. Sophomore guard Justin Paz chipped in 13 points.
Bellinger’s 19 points led all scorers as East Stroudsburg North’s 6-foot-6 senior guard/forward nearly came away with the game-winner.
What it means: The fourth-seeded Golden Hawks advanced to Friday’s EPC championship at a site and time to be determined to play the winner of the other semifinal between Allen and Pocono Mountain West.
The No. 8 Timberwolves, who knocked off top-seeded Emmaus in Friday’s quarterfinals, almost continued their Cinderella run with a scrappy comeback late, only to end the game in heartbreak.
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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