Closing time.

The ability to finish off opponents late in games is a trait that most winning ball clubs possess.

Northwestern has been that type of squad throughout the season, as it sits atop the standings in the West Division of the Colonial League.

The Tigers were able to close out another tough adversary in Lehighton in a division game on Thursday night, getting key defensive stops down the stretch and converting from the free-throw line to pull away for a 72-63 victory.

The Indians gave the Tigers everything they could handle, as the back-and-forth play started right from the tip.

Lehighton, which has been sluggish in the first quarter over its last two contests, was able to get off to a good start as it led 8-7 midway through the period. Five early points from Cole Dietz got the Tribe offense in rhythm.

However, the opening frame was all about the Tigers’ outside shooting, as back-to-back three-pointers from Shane Marth and Eli Zimmerman put Northwestern back in front. The Tigers would go on to hit three more triples in the frame — two from Mason Bollinger and one from Brady Krimmel — to finish the quarter with five from behind the arc.

Lehighton hung tough though, hitting a few deep ones of its own from Blake Roberts and John Light to trail by just six (22-16).

Northwestern finished 8-for-13 from the field, and an impressive 5-for-8 from three in the first.

“That might be the best first-quarter shooting performance that we have had since I was hired here,” said Northwestern head coach Pat Wanamaker. “What we did so well in that first quarter was that we made extra passes. We were giving up good shots to get better ones. We just did a good job of sharing the ball and finding the open man.

“In the second quarter, we just looked a little rushed. I think at one point we had five turnovers in a six- or seven-possession stretch. I thought we got a little sloppy in the second, but also credit to Lehighton. That’s a good defensive team and they made some plays. But at the half, we talked about how we needed to take better care of the ball, and we were able to do that the rest of the way.”

Northwestern committed five turnovers in the second, but was able to keep a 30-27 lead at the intermission. Joe Roth carried the load for Lehighton in the second, scoring eight points.

In the third, the Tigers tried several times to pull away from the Indians, but the Tribe weren’t about to go quietly into the night.

Around the 5:15 mark, a Gavin Nelson bucket made it a six-point game (38-32), but Lehighton battled back to tie it up at 41-41. A few deuces by Roberts and Caden Meek, and a big triple from Dietz, closed the gap.

The Indians stayed right there for the rest of the third and ended the frame with a 48-47 lead going into the fourth. Roth and Dietz combined for 15 points in the third for Lehighton. After scoring eight points in the first half, Nelson — Northwestern’s most recent 1,000-point scorer — started to heat up in the third quarter, scoring seven points.

“As far as the last two games and our slow starts go, I thought we came out tonight and we responded. We got off to the start we needed,” said Lehighton head coach Trevor Miller. “You know Nelson is going to get his. He’s an extremely talented player and super athletic. But credit to them, they had some other guys step up and make some big shots for them.

“But I’m proud of our effort. I thought we did a great job of responding to their runs. We knew they were going to make some runs with how talented they are, but we were able to answer all of their runs and stay within shouting distance to have a shot at the end of the game.”

Lehighton kept answering the call in the fourth quarter as well, as it held a 53-51 lead with 4:51 left to play. But that’s when Northwestern went into close-out mode.

A bucket from Bollinger tied the game, and the Tigers never trailed again the rest of the way. The dagger for Northwestern came at the 2:02 mark when Nelson hit a triple from the right wing to give the Tigers a 61-54 advantage. From there, Northwestern went 7-for-8 from the line to help finish off the win.

“I think part of these guys’ ability to close out games is that Northwestern mentality. Everyone knows the success a lot of our programs had in the fall and that has carried over. It’s contagious,” said Wanamaker. “These kids expect to win and that’s not from a point of arrogance, but it’s from confidence and from preparation.

“That’s part of it, and then the other part is that these guys are just gamers. They love to battle and they love the grind. And defensively, they’ve embraced a defensive mentality and down the stretch you saw that with the way they were able to get stops.”

FILLING IT UP … Nelson scored 13 points in the fourth and led all scorers with a game-high 29. Zimmerman had a big night as well, scoring 19, which included three three-pointers. Bollinger helped out with 13. For the Tribe, Dietz and Roth each scored 20, and Roberts chipped in with 18.

CHARITY STRIPE … Northwestern got to the line an exceptional 23 times and shot well, going 18-for-23. Nelson was an impressive 10-for-11 on his foul shots.

THE RECORDS … Northwestern stays on top in the West Division with a 4-0 record, and a 12-1 overall Colonial League record. Lehighton is now 2-1 in division play, and falls to 9-4 in league play.

NORTHWESTERN

Krimmel 1-1-2-4, Bollinger 5-1-2-13, E. Zimmerman 6-4-6-19, Wambold 0-0-0-0, Fitch 0-0-0-0, Nelson 9-10-11-29, Marth 2-2-2-7, Coleman 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-18-23-72.

LEHIGHTON

Solt 0-0-0-0, Light 1-0-0-3, Meek 1-0-0-2, Fairchild 0-0-0-0, Roberts 7-0-0-18, Roth 7-6-9-20, Dietz 6-5-6-20. TOTALS: 22-11-15-63.

Northwestern 22 8 17 25 - 72

Lehighton 16 11 21 15 - 63

Three-pointers: Northwestern - E. Zimmerman 3, Bollinger 2, Krimmel 1, Nelson 1, Marth 1; Lehighton - Roberts 4, Dietz 3, Light 1.

Records: Northwestern (15-2; 13-1 CL); Lehighton (12-4; 9-4 CL).