COOPERSBURG - A young Palmerton team was at a distinct disadvantage in both experience and size against top seed Executive Education Academy Charter in Wednesday night’s district semifinal game at Southern Lehigh.

As it turned out, those disadvantages were too much for the Blue Bombers to overcome and they fell to the Raptors, 65-27, in the Class 3A semis.

Executive Academy (12-7) rolled from start to finish, scoring the first 16 points of the game. Its advantage in size and experience over Palmerton (18-8) played a significant role in the win.

Early in the game, Executive used shots from the perimeter to draw out the Palmerton defense, which was focused on shutting down the lane. Once some holes opened, the Raptors went into attack mode, and the second half resembled somewhat of a dunk contest as Executive put its size to use.

“We were going to try to pack in the paint, but then they just hit threes like crazy,” said Palmerton coach Ken Termini. “They were six-for-11 on threes in the first half, and then you throw in five transition buckets, and we were in trouble.”

Senior Jalil Schneck hit two of the team’s five three-pointers in the first quarter, and turned in one of the finer-looking dunks of the night in the third quarter to finish with 11 points. In all, Executive hit 10 threes, and used three impressive dunks in the third quarter to top their scoring.

“This was actually a good experience for us because our young guys have to learn to play in games like this where you are facing a bigger opponent,” said Termini. “In some ways, it’s easier on a team to lose a game like this than it is to lose by two or three points, so I think we will be OK. Our guys will come back and fight for their spot in states.”

Palmerton sophomore Brayden Hosier had a strong night for the Bombers, scoring 12 points and draining a long three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter. Fellow sophomore Matt Machalik finished with seven points, all of which came in the first half as Executive started to pay more attention to him defensively.

While No. 4 seed Palmerton trailed throughout the game, it continued to play hard, fought for points, and tried to shut down the Raptors offense.

Palmerton will play Saturday afternoon back at Southern Lehigh High School against Notre Dame (18-7), with the winner advancing to states, while the season will end for the losing squad.

“We will bounce back and fight for our spot in states when we play on Saturday,” stressed Termini. “We just have to wipe this game from our memory and get back on course. Our guys fight and are resilient, so I believe we will be OK.”

TALE OF THE TAPE ... The Blue Bombers have just three seniors on their roster, and started three sophomores, a junior and one senior in Wednesday night’s game. Executive’s roster has seven seniors with heights ranging from 6-0 to 6-11, while Palmerton’s tallest player is senior David Tworkowski, who checks in at 6-3. The Raptors also have two Division 1 commits in seniors Jeremiah Bembry (Florida State) and Kobe Magee (Drexel).

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD

... Bembry scored a game-high 16 points for Executive, and is its leading scorer, but did not start the game due to some soreness in his wrist. He developed the issue in practice Tuesday when he dunked a ball. Bembry did execute what was the most exciting play of the night when he stole the ball at midcourt and raced down to the hoop for an impressive dunk that put Executive up 39-17 in the third quarter.

GOOD BUS RIDE

... With Notre Dame Green Pond and Dock Mennonite matched in the other semifinal game, a win by Dock – which is not in District 11 – would give the Raptors the District 11 championship, but a win by the Crusaders would mean a matchup between the two teams in the finals. Notre Dame Green Pond needed double overtime to decide its contest, which ended with the Crusaders on the short end of a 78-75 score. The timing meant that the Raptors were crowned District 11 champions during their bus ride home, making for a rowdy ride.

PALMERTON

Machalik 2-2-4-7, J. Sebelin 0-0-0-0, Robinson 0-0-0-0, Reph 1-1-5-3, Rumfield 0-0-0-0, Leister 0-0-0-0, K. Sebelin 0-1-2-1, Grammes 0-0-0-0, Hosier 4-3-3-12, Tworkowski 1-0-0-2, Stahler 0-0-0-0, Anthony 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 9-7-14-27.

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Muniz 3-0-0-9, Oquendo 2-0-0-5, Schneck 5-0-0-13, Allieu 2-0-0-4, Bembry 7-1-2-16, M. Sanoh 1-0-0-2, L. Sanoh 0-0-0-0, Hornberger 2-2-2-7, Brantley 1-0-0-3, Magee 2-0-1-4, Lopez 0-0-0-0, Rios 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 26-3-5-65.

Palmerton 3 10 7 7 – 27

Executive Ed. 24 11 17 13 - 65

Three-pointers: Palmerton – Machalik 1, Hosier 1; Executive Edu. – Muniz 3, Schneck 3, Oquendo 1, Bembry 1, Hornberger 1, Brantley 1.