EASTON - Controlling the tempo.

That was Jim Thorpe's game plan against No. 1 seeded Bethlehem Catholic on Friday night in the District 11 4A championship at Easton Middle School.The Olympians (14-11) allowed an average of just 37 points per game in their previous two playoff wins, slowing the game down and using that style of play to their advantage.Becahi, a team that had been averaging 65.5 points per game coming into the championship matchup, had another game plan. The Golden Hawks pushed the tempo and pressured Thorpe into 18 turnovers on the night en route to a 64-31 victory, capturing their third district title in school history.This was a game where the Olympians had to be perfect with Becahi packing quite the punch on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. From the onset, the Golden Hawks made that very difficult for Thorpe to live up to.In the first, the Golden Hawks showed just how quickly they could take control turning a one-point advantage with 3:27 remaining into a nine-point lead just a minute and a half later.In the second, Becahi continued its success on the offensive end. Six different Golden Hawk players were able to score a bucket in the first half, with a lot of their made shots coming from transition opportunities.The key was Becahi's defensive pressure in both the full and half-court, forcing the Olympians into six second-quarter turnovers. The pressure helped the Golden Hawks shoot 6-for-8 from the field in the second quarter, keeping Thorpe at bay, leading by 13 at the half."The turning point for us, I think, was the second quarter when we were able to make some shots, which really got our offense started," said Golden Hawks head coach Ray Barbosa. "Consistently, we just played good defense all night and we rebounded really well. Our effort and our energy was outstanding tonight and these guys deserve this championship."Becahi put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring Thorpe 23-8. The Olympians shot just 3-for-9 in the frame and once again had trouble handling the Golden Hawks pressure, turning the ball over five times.The Becahi defense was the story on the night as they held Olympians' leading scorer Chris Micciche to just four points. Micciche, who scored 23 points against Salisbury in the district semifinals, couldn't find any room to operate."Micciche is a good player, good at getting to the rim, but our guys did a good job of staying in front of him and not letting him get into the paint," said Barbosa. "It was just an overall great team defensive effort tonight."On the opposite side of the bench, Thorpe head coach Jason McElmoyle knew his team was up against a highly-touted and highly-skilled basketball team."This team is ranked No. 4 in the state in 4A for a reason. They have some many weapons and they really got after us defensively. They didn't give us much room at all and used their quickness and athleticism to really pressure."This loss is not a death sentence, though. Nobody expected us to be here tonight and we surprised a lot of people. We still have a lot left to play for."With Becahi leading 51-23 heading into the fourth, both coaches cleared the benches halfway through the quarter. When it was all said and done, the Golden Hawks walked away with a 33-point win and a host of gold medals.LEADING SCORERS ... Justin Paz, just a sophomore, showed that he will be a player to be reckoned with in the 4A field for years to come, scoring a game-high 17 points for Becahi. For Thorpe, Brendan Carroll had nine and Matt Elmore scored eight.JIM THORPECarroll 3-0-0-9, Samuel 1-0-0-2, Elmore 3-2-4-8, Burkhart 0-0-0-0, Searfoss 0-0-0-0, Joyce 1-0-0-3, Valdez 0-0-0-0, Scott 0-0-0-0, Marykwas 0-0-0-0, Foreman 0-0-0-0, Na. Rosahac 1-0-2-2, Ni. Rosahac 0-0-0-0, Fikenstcher 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-3-9-31.BETHLEHEM CATHOLICGardner 2-0-0-4, R. Young 3-0-0-6, Melson 2-2-3-6, Giordano 1-0-0-2, Thomas 3-0-0-7, Pettiford 1-0-0-3, Kuna 1-0-2-3, Odle 4-0-0-8, K. Young 0-1-2-1, Paz 6-3-4-17, Robinson 2-0-0-5, Frett 1-0-1-2. TOTALS: 25-6-12-64.Jim Thorpe 5 10 8 8 - 31Becahi 14 14 23 13 - 64Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Carroll 3, Joyce 1; Becahi - Paz 2, Thomas 1, Kuna 1, Pettiford 1, Robinson 1.