A good old-fashioned rivalry.

Lehighton and Palmerton both looked to be in midseason form on Tuesday night as the Indians and Bombers played some good basketball as they clashed for the Route 248 Trophy.

The game was a true back-and-forth affair that saw Lehighton weather a fast start from Palmerton, as the Tribe were able to make enough plays late in the fourth quarter to leave Fireline Road with a 65-62 Colonial League victory.

“Give credit to Palmerton. They made a lot of shots tonight, especially in the first half,” said Lehighton head coach Trevor Miller. “I thought we contested most of their shots, but (Corey) Serfass and (Logan) Anthony just continued to make buckets.

“It wasn’t until later in the game when we switched some things up defensively that enabled us to get out and run a little bit more that momentum then kind of started to swing our way. But I’m proud of our guys for sticking together. Even in the timeouts tonight when we were down, there was no panic. Sometimes you’re not going to play your best, but you still need to find a way to win, and we were able to do that.”

The Blue Bombers needed to get out to a fast start against an Indians’ team that already had two games under their belt. Two inside buckets from 6-5 big man Anthony got Palmerton out to an early advantage, followed by a three-pointer by Jason Carrelli and a jumper from Serfass and Palmerton held a surprising 9-2 lead.

A couple buckets from John Light closed the deficit for Lehighton, and eventually the Indians tied the score at 12-12 with 2:20 to go in the first. But some big shots by Serfass at the end of the frame gave Palmerton a two-point lead heading into the second frame. Serfass scored nine points, while Anthony added seven in the opening quarter to help the Bombers get off to a fast start.

“I thought we played great in the first half. We came out and we were able to score in the upper 30s and Logan Anthony was just dominant. I don’t think there is anyone in our league that is going to be able to stop him down low,” said Palmerton head coach Joe Egan. “This was also the first time all five of these guys were really able to play together. We have had guys out in the preseason for different reasons, so to see them play that well together is definitely encouraging for us.

“Credit to Lehighton. They made a switch defensively and we had a few sloppy turnovers in the fourth quarter, which took us out of our rhythm. Joe Roth was disruptive at the top of their defense with his length and caused us some issues. But overall, I thought we did some nice things and tonight was a snapshot of the team we can be as we continue to work to get better.”

The Bombers kept the pressure on the Tribe throughout the second and third quarters. Palmerton led 37-33 at the half, and 52-48 after the third. At one point in the third, the Bombers led by as many as eight, anchored by strong inside play from Anthony.

Even with momentum not on their side, the Indians did a good job of preventing Palmerton from getting out to a larger advantage. Cole Dietz scored 10 points in the second quarter, while Roth put together a huge third, tallying 13 to keep Lehighton in the game.

Then came the Indians defensive pressure in the fourth. A switch to a 1-3-1 half-court defense with trapping tendencies forced four Palmerton turnovers early in the frame. A deuce from Light, and a triple from Talin Fairchild gave Lehighton a 53-52 lead at the 7:14 mark. After two free throws from Cameron Pengelly, a 6-0 Tribe run was sparked by buckets from Light, Roth and Dietz to up the Indians’ lead to five with 3:24 remaining.

Palmerton wouln’t go away though, as clutch three-pointers from Serfass and Pengelly got the Bombers within one (61-60). With just 42 seconds left, Serfass deflected an Indians’ pass and found Pengelly on the left block to give Palmerton a 62-61 advantage.

But Lehighton was able to draw a few fouls in the waning moments of the contest, as Brayden Johnson hit two free throws and Dietz two more to make it 65-62 with 11.6 left. The Bombers weren’t able to hit their three-point look from the left wing, and the Indians were able to escape with the league win.

“Switching to our 1-3-1 definitely changed the momentum of the game,” said Miller. “That ended up being the difference in the game. Also, Joe Roth was big for us. He scored on maybe four or five straight possessions in that third quarter to keep us in it. Again, this a good team win for us and again, I’m proud of the way we stuck together out there when faced with adversity.”

TRIBE PRIDE … Roth led the Indians with 21 points, which also included a nice night on the boards, as he collected eight rebounds. Dietz added 19, going 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Light chipped in with 13 points.

BOMBS AWAY … Serfass led all scorers with 22, which included four three-pointers. Anthony was tough in the post, scoring 16 and also collected five assists. Pengelly had some nice late-game moments, scoring nine.

LEHIGHTON

Solt 0-0-0-0, Light 6-0-0-13, Fairchild 3-0-0-8, Johnson 0-4-8-4, Blair 0-0-0-0, Roth 8-5-8-21, Dietz 5-7-8-19. TOTALS: 22-16-24-65.

PALMERTON

Serfass 9-0-0-22, Carrelli 3-0-0-8, Pengelly 3-2-3-9, Grammes 0-0-0-0, Zulik 0-0-0-0, Reph 3-0-0-7, George 0-0-0-0, Anthony 7-2-4-16. TOTALS: 25-4-7-62.

Lehighton 17 16 15 17 - 65

Palmerton 19 18 15 10 - 62

Three-pointers: Lehighton - Dietz 2, Fairchild 2, Light 1; Palmerton - Serfass 4, Carrelli 2, Pengelly 1, Reph 1.

Records: Lehighton (3-0; 1-0); Palmerton (0-1; 0-1).