Setting high standards
First-year PIAA member Bethlehem Christian collects first district win
History was made in the District 11 tournament Saturday afternoon at Catasauqua.
Bethlehem Christian, in its first year as a PIAA program, won its first D11 playoff game.
With a 61-53 victory over Susquehanna Community from District 2, the Panthers got a victory in their first postseason contest, a Class 1A subregional game, and it was a proud moment for the Bethlehem Township school located on Green Pond Road. It’s a school that has been around for about 40 years in various locations, but has now found a home and is developing an athletic program.
“It’s a great feeling because these guys have been working hard since the offseason, even as far back as last year, and now their hard work is paying off,” Bethlehem Christian coach Matt DeJesus said. “This is our first year in PIAA. We compete in the ACCAC and we’ve done well in middle school and high school and this is the second year of our boys basketball program.”
The school also had a girls basketball program for the first time, but won’t play a PIAA schedule until next year.
To get ready for their first PIAA season, the boys team played in the Lehigh Valley Boys Varsity Basketball Summer League run by Glen Klein and John Hrebik. They played twice a week indoors at the Whitehall School District complex all summer matching up mostly with Colonial League members.
“It was a great summer league and it showed to the boys they could hang at this level,” DeJesus said. “And we’d go to team camps and hang with some PIAA teams they never played before. They were ready. I thought they were ready. Brian Algeo, our athletic director, agreed. It has been a great year for us. To earn the third seed in districts was really amazing but it’s really about the hard work they put in.”
DeJesus said most of the players are from the Bethlehem-Easton-Nazareth area and
some are from New Jersey as well.
DeJesus came from New Jersey but has lived in the Lehigh Valley for over 10 years. He has coached AAU ball with the Lehigh Valley Fever & Force AAU program headed by Dean Reiman, the former Freedom girls coach.
“I stopped once I took this job because it’s a full-time commitment but I’ve been coaching for 18 years now and started with my younger brother when he was 5 and I took it all the way up,” DeJesus said. “I love every second of it to be able to pour back to these kids in the same way some great coaches have given to me. It’s a blessing to be here and I have to thank Brian and BCS for giving me this opportunity.”
Algeo said he has been on the job for 2½ years after starting with cross country.
“We saw some of the talented kids coming up through the younger grades and we decided to take a leap and build a competitive program,” Algeo said. “We didn’t just want to be there. We saw an opportunity and we offer varsity soccer for boys, varsity volleyball for girls, and ross country for both genders. Next year we’ll be a full PIAA member.”
As for getting that first district win, Algeo said: “When people say there are no words to describe a big moment, I’m living in that moment right now. I’m so proud of these guys. They’ve worked their tails off and coach Matt loves these boys. He sacrifices time and money just to be around them. He pours into them. It’s not about just what happens on the basketball court for Bethlehem Christian. It’s about developing young boys into young men. Coach Matt and his assistants do a phenomenal job.”
Bethlehem Christian, now 13-9, will play in the District 11-2 subregional semifinals Wednesday night against No. 2 seed Forest City at Forest City.
The deeper they go, the more the young players in the program will gain experience.
DeJesus said he knew the game against Susquehanna, located near the New York/Pennsylvania border, would not be easy.
“We played them at a team camp and we knew it was going to be a good game against a team with a great coach and big and physical players,” DeJesus said. “We lack height and they have some of that and they brought it. I’m just happy our guys competed for four quarters.”
Bethlehem Christian got 17 points from freshman Myles Harris, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter when Susquehanna Township trimmed a 15-point deficit to 58-53 in the final minute.
Elijah Arzuago added 12 points and Amari Williams chipped in 10.
Arzuago, the team’s only senior, was happy to be a part of the program’s first district win before he heads to college, potentially the University of Valley Forge. He was part of the team for only one year after transferring from New Life Christian in North Carolina, but still savored the accomplishment.
“This wins means a lot because we’re all brothers here,” Arzuago said. “I wanted to be a leader for these guys. We all play together as one. There’s no me, just we. We work hard and play well together. It’s a big moment for us.”