Bethel Park boys opened up their basketball season this past Friday.

The Hawks hosted their annual tip-off tournament with Bethel Park, Allderdice, Thomas Jefferson, and Erie-McDowell all competing.

Bethel Park played Thomas Jefferson in their first game of the season Friday afternoon.

It was a slow and sloppy game out of the gate, with lots of turnovers and missed shots.  The Hawks were struggling to get any scoring going, but their solid defense and excellent rebounding helped them keep control of the game.

It was a close game at halftime, but the Hawks were able to get things going and execute more in the second half to open up the scoring. The Hawks cruised to a 63-39 victory.

Junior Jake Dixon was dominant in the victory posting 24 points and was a monster on the boards. Senior point guard Joey Mascaro got off to a slow start shooting the ball, but found his groove in the second half and dished out a host of assists. Junior Chance Wright came up big off the bench hitting some keys shots in the victory.

It was a big win, but the Hawks certainly needed to play better in their next game if they wanted to down Allderdice in the championship game. The Allderdice Dragons had routed Erie McDowell later that Friday 72-61.

The Hawks were going to need more scoring in this game to keep up with Allderdice who has proved they can score.

Bethel did just that and, was able to spread the ball around and get scoring from a host of players.

The Hawks hung in there for the whole game, and took Allderdice right down to the wire. The Dragons ultimately prevailed 75-72, but it was still a good showing for the Hawks.

There are areas for improvement, but the Hawks showed they have a lot of potential for the upcoming season.

This tip-off tournament was good for the Hawks to help gain some experience, and play against teams they won’t see during the regular season.

The Hawks host Carrick on Tuesday in a non-section match-up, and then look forward to facing some tough section opponents.