The paint can be an intimidating place.

But don’t tell that to Palmerton’s Brayden Hosier.

The 5-11, 150-pound junior has never feared driving the lane. In fact, his ability to do so has lifted his game - and his team’s game.

Despite going up against players bigger and stronger, Hosier has continually gained success inside whether by scoring at the rim, drawing fouls or finding teammates for open shots.

That talent - along with other areas of the game he excelled in - not only helped the Blue Bombers to an area-best 20-8 record, but it also earned him the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“I’m very aware of my (size), but you can’t worry about getting blocked every time you take a shot in the paint,” said Hosier. “If you’re worried about getting blocked, then you’re going to alter your shot and you’re ultimately going to miss. If you go up without fear, you’re going to have a much higher percentage of making your shot.”

Hosier made plenty of shots this past season. He finished with 478 points for an area best 17.1 points per game average. He also registered a season-high 32 points in the district quarterfinals, and hit for 27 in the consolation game that helped his team reach the state playoffs.

“Our offensive philosophy is to drive, draw, dish - and to make defenses adjust and collapse,” said Palmerton head coach Ken Termini. “Brayden exemplifies that. He’s able to get into the paint, where most people might not even try. He’s able to attack, either one-on-one and sometimes even when they have multiple guys back. He has an uncanny ability to split a gap, three-quarter spin, move in and get himself to the rim. And he’s also very patient when he does get into the paint.

“Brayden has a way of pivoting inside and has the footwork that even though he’s not a big guy, he’s able to finish under pressure. It really helps the rest of our team out a lot because second and third defenders will look at him and that opens up dive cuts or people sliding to the corner for a catch-and-shoot. It opens up a lot for his teammates, as well as creating a lot of scoring opportunities for himself.”

Hosier gained experience - at home - going up against a taller opponent.

His brother Justin - a 1,000-point scorer at Palmerton who is three years older than Brayden - got him used to the rigors of facing bigger players.

“All the time,” said Brayden about how often the two would compete. “He definitely made me a stronger person. That’s probably why I’m as physical as I am. When it comes to height, he’s definitely taller ... He really proved to be a great role model and definitely helped me with as physical as I got (playing) one-on-one.”

While Hosier is known for his scoring (he has 876 career points), there’s another facet of the game he enjoys even more.

“I definitely enjoy distributing the ball to my teammates a lot, because it get them pumped up,” said Hosier. “When I can make a nice pass to someone ... teams start playing differently because of it. It also opens up my game a lot. It’s just more fun (making a good pass) because it gets everyone on the team hyped up.”

“Brayden led the team in assists ... and if we finish a little bit better early in the year (he would have had more),” said Termini. “To have triple figures in assists in a season that was almost a 500-point season, that just goes to show that he has the capability of making the right decision. Where Brayden has really shown a lot of growth, if you were to compare and contrast his freshman year to his junior year, I think he sees the entire floor a lot better, and he definitely is hitting his teammates with some amazing passes.”

Despite his success, Hosier is determined to keep improving. He hopes by doing that, he can up his game, make his teammates better and possibly help the Bombers capture a championship.

“I want to work on my quickness,” said Hosier. “Some people might say I’m quick now, but that’s something you can always get better at. And also shooting. My shot started to fall at the end of the year and I’m hoping to take that into next year and actually improve on that.

“We have a number of guys back and we’ve been playing together for a while ... We can’t wait for next year, and we definitely have championships in mind.”

He’s not the only one.

“I’d love to see his outside shooting be a little more consistent,” said Termini. “But during the last eight games of the year, he shot almost 40% from three, and almost 75% from the free throw line. When Brayden’s shooting like that from the outside, added with his ability to get to the paint ... that’s when we go from a really good team to a team that’s a championship level team. And instead of just celebrating players of the year, we want to celebrate district or league championships. I know he wants that badly.

“He just loves the game. He and his family exemplify the tremendous tradition of Palmerton basketball. He loves his town, he loves his school, he loves his friends. He understands that he’s a student-athlete, meaning student comes first. That’s what we try to teach in our program, and we’re lucky to have a person like Brayden in it to be a great role model for all his peers and all the young kids coming up.”