Pope John is a four-time defending champion of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex tournament.
Pope John 47, Warren Hills 44 – Rapid Recap
Warren Hills boys basketball team fell just short against four-time defending champion Pope John XXIII on Saturday afternoon in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex quarterfinals. Blue Streaks' Johnny Bamford had a potential tying 3-pointer bounce off the back of the rim in the final seconds of a 47-44 Pope John road victory.
Turning point: It came right down to the end as Warren Hills had a chance to force overtime on the final possession. The Blue Streaks held the visitors to only six points in the fourth quarter to make things very interesting. Bamford had eight points and Funot Woldetnsai scored 11 in the second half to fuel the Blue Streaks.
Top performers: Bamford finished with 18 points and Woldetnsai tallied 14 for Warren Hills. Woldetnsai, a transfer from Pope John, hit four 3-pointers, including three in the second half. Anthony Veneziano had seven points in the first half for the Blue Streaks. Pope John got 16 points from Aaron Clarke and 12 from Ray Montilus.
What it means: Sixth-seeded Pope John, who is 13-8 on the season with many of those losses coming against top-ranked teams in New Jersey, advances to play at second-seeded North Hunterdon in the semifinals on Saturday. North Hunterdon beat Phillipsburg 55-50 in the quarterfinals. The Blue Streaks fall to 13-5 on the season with their next game being at South Hunterdon on Tuesday night.
Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.