The Olympians were due.

After two tough losses this week in overtime and double overtime where it looked like Jim Thorpe would be able to close out those games, it needed to try and come away with a win on the road over Palmerton on Friday night.

That’s what Thorpe was able to do, making clutch free throws and getting key stops down the stretch to defeat the Bombers 50-46 for a Colonial League victory.

“I guess they say the third time is the charm, right,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Brian O’Donnell. “The last two that we played, we thought we gave those away a little bit, and even tonight again, we were trending in that direction, with some turnovers that helped get them get back in the game.

“But then we settled down and I think we learned from our mistakes. We took care of the ball there in the last minute and Brody Schrantz made some big foul shots for us. Palmerton didn’t make it easy and they were even down a man tonight in (Logan) Anthony, and they fought hard. But we were able to make enough plays to close it out.”

Like the past two contests, JT once again got off to a good start, leading 16-11 after one. Pierce Gothard was hot early for the Olympians scoring 10 points in the first, including two three-pointers.

However, like they did many times throughout the game, the Bombers battled back in the second, outscoring Thorpe 16-11 to make it a 27-27 tie at the break. Back-to-back triples from Jason Carrelli and Brady Reph to start the quarter got Palmerton’s offense going. Six points in the frame from Corey Serfass also helped spark the Bombers’ productive second.

“One thing about this group is that they always fight, regardless of what the situation is,” said Palmerton head coach Joe Egan. “They’ll always keep fighting, and that’s why I love coaching these guys. We were missing Logan Anthony tonight because he was sick and missing our big guy like that obviously changes some things for us.

“But Mason George came in and gave us some really good minutes and we had some other guys step up. But credit to Jim Thorpe. That’s a really athletic and scrappy group. They also made some big shots. Defensively, we’re a zone team and Schrantz hit some big threes for them. But for us, we’re going to focus on continuing to get better everyday and work hard at practice.”

Both squads battled for much of the third, but an 8-0 run by the Olympians to end the quarter helped them carry a nine-point lead (42-33) intro the final frame. Two free throws by Cole Lazorick and then consecutive makes from beyond the arc from Schrantz, which included a 35-foot buzzer beater at the end of the stanza, gave Thorpe big time momentum.

“Brody hit one from the volleyball line to end the third and that was huge. That gave us some breathing room,” said O’Donnell. “He played very well tonight and with him being just a sophomore, he has a bright future. A bunch of other guys played well for us as well. It really was a total team effort.”

A huge Palmerton 9-0 run to start the fourth got it right back into the game, tying the contest at 42-42 at the 4:22 mark. Deuces from George, Reph and Serfass started the surge and a three-point play from Cameron Pengelly after a hoop plus the harm, paired with the Bombers trapping defense that created six JT miscues, swung momentum in Palmerton’s favor.

A Pengelly bucket finally put Palmerton in front, but a clutch triple from Gothard put Thorpe back on top (46-44). Pengelly, who scored seven points in the fourth, once again came through with an inside bucket to even up the score. But that’s when the Olympians would go into lockdown mode, holding the Bombers scoreless for the last 1:27 of the game, taking care of the ball and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line to clinch the win.

“After the last two tough losses, to finally be able to come away with one and to close one out was big for us,” said O’Donnell. “Palmerton hit some tough shots tonight. But we were able to dig in there defensively and force some tough shots late, and we battled and were able to get some big rebounds. Just so proud of our guys. They deserve one after how hard they have fought over the past few games.”

LEADING SCORERS … For Thorpe, Schrantz scored a game-high 19 points, hitting three triples and going 4-for-4 from the foul line to ice the game. Gothard added 15 and Lazorick chipped in with 10. For Palmerton, Pengelly led the way with 15 and Serfass and Reph scored 10 apiece.

CHARITY STRIPE … It was a good night for JT from the free throw line. Thorpe went 14-for-18 from the stripe, which is an impressive 78 percent.

JIM THORPE

P. Gothard 5-2-2-15, Curran 1-4-6-6, Lazorick 3-4-6-10, Antignani 0-0-0-0, Kiehl 0-0-0-0, Zurn 0-0-0-0, Schrantz 6-4-4-19, Moore 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-14-18-50.

PALMERTON

Serfass 4-2-2-10, Carrelli 3-2-2-9, Jedrejeczyk 0-0-0-0, Pengelly 6-1-2-15, Delgado 0-0-0-0, Reph 4-1-4-10, George 1-0-0-2, McGowan 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-6-10-46.

Jim Thorpe 16 11 15 8 - 50

Palmerton 11 16 6 13 - 46

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Schranzt 3, P. Gothard 3; Palmerton - Pengelly 2, Carrelli 1, Reph 1.

Records: Jim Thorpe (4-14; 3-12); Palmerton (7-12; 6-10).