Palmerton coach Ken Termini couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season. His team closed out December by taking Lehighton to task Wednesday night.

The Bombers did that first with an explosive offense, and then finished it off with a smothering defense to capture the Slatington Rotary Christmas Tournament championship, 60-36.

The victory keeps Palmerton undefeated on the season.

The offense was served from behind the arc, as both teams drained three-pointers at will in the first period. The chief ‘Bomber’ was Matt Machalik, who paced Palmerton by sinking four bombs from behind the arc. A back-to-back pair erased an 8-7 Lehighton edge that would be the final lead for the Indians.

Lehighton did keep pace early with its own torrid shooting from beyond the arc. Brayden Johnson hit his second trey of the first quarter to cut the Bomber lead to 13-11. The teams would then trade bombs, with Brayden Hosier extending Palmerton’s lead and Lehighton freshman Cole Dietz answering to bring it back to a two-point game.

Palmerton would end the quarter with five straight points, capped off with Mahalik’s fourth three-pointer to take a 21-14 lead.

“We haven’t really shot the three extraordinarily well this year, and teams are going to be really surprised when they find out we can,” Termini said, “Mahalik’s a big-game player, and he played big in a big game tonight ... that’s what he does.”

After the back-and-forth first period, fans expected to see more of the same in the second quarter, but Palmerton stepped up the defense and put the lid on the basket. The Bombers shut out Lehighton over a five-minute period as they pushed the lead to 26-14. It was finally broken with Joe Roth converting a three-point play halfway through the quarter. It would be the only basket in the frame for the Indians.

To add insult to injury, Machalik finished off the quarter and the Indians when he dribbled up-court, and pulled up just across the midcourt line to sink a buzzer-beater for his fifth trey and a 35-19 halftime edge.

“We knew coming in their pressure was something we had to handle,” Lehighton coach Trevor Miller reflected. “We didn’t execute, and that is a credit to their defense. Palmerton is playing at a very high level.”

In the first game of the tournament, Michalik and Hosier combined for 48 points in the win over Jim Thorpe. Coach Termini was pleased with others on the team stepping and registering in the box score. Chase Reph finished the game with 11 rebounds and five assists, but also scored 12 points, including the first five in the second half to push the Bomber lead to 21.

“Coach has been saying all year long that we need another scorer to step up to win and advance our play even further,” Reph explained, “My teammates were able to find me tonight.”

“We need to get contributions up and down the lineup,” Termini added. “When everybody is contributing, that’s when we’re at our best.”

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION ... Palmerton (10-0) now dives into the meat of the Colonial League season hitting on all cylinders. It travels to Wilson on Saturday, Jan. 7. “We have teams coming up like Wilson, Saucon Valley, and Notre Dame,” Reph explained. “We just want to take care of business like we did tonight.”

YOUNG AND IMPROVING ... Lehighton (5-6), which has a starting lineup that features two sophomores and two freshmen, is off to a good start. They will dive into the meat of the Schuylkill County division while competing for a spot in the postseason. “We had to grow up quickly this month,” coach Miller explained. “We have to learn from this game and turn the page. Every game counts, and we got to take advantage of that and compete every night.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM ... The team included Kaiden Herron (Jim Thorpe), Connor Simms (Northern Lehigh), Blake Roberts and Cole Dietz (Lehighton), Brayden Hosier (Palmerton), and tournament MVP Matt Mahalik (Palmerton).

STAT LINES ... Mahalik had 17 first-half points and finished with 21, to go along with nine rebounds. Hosier finished with 16 points, and a team-leading seven assists.

PALMERTON

Machalik 9-0-1-23, Sebelin 0-0-0-0, Robinson 1-0-0-2, Reph 4-3-5-12, Leister 0-1-2-1, Grammes 3-0-0-6, Hosier 4-7-8-16, Stahler 0-0-0-0, Anthony 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-11-16-60.

LEHIGHTON

Hawk 1-0-0-2, Light 0-0-0-0, Serfass 1-2-2-4, Blauch 1-0-0-2, Johnson 2-0-2-6, Roberts 3-1-2-8, Smith 0-0-0-0, Dietz 1-2-3-5, Acosta 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 11-10-18-36.

Palmerton 21 14 13 12 - 60

Lehighton 14 5 8 9 - 36

Three-Pointers – Palmerton: Machalik 5, Hosier, Reph; Lehighton: Johnson 2, Roberts, Dietz.