Senior Night at Northwestern Lehigh turned into Showtime as the Tigers put on an impressive display on both sides of the court en route to a 71-36 win over Palmerton in their Colonial League regular season finale Monday night.

Northwestern slowly built up a seven-point lead in the first quarter before Palmerton’s Corey Serfass nailed a three-pointer to make it 13-9.

From there, the Tigers combined a high-speed offense and an imposing defense to go on a 15-0 run that spanned the final minute of the opening quarter to two minutes into the second period as Northwestern pulled ahead 28-9.

In the second quarter alone, Northwestern scored six points off offensive rebounds, along with eight points off Palmerton turnovers, many of which were forced by the Tigers defense.

Palmerton looked to fight its way back with Gaige McGowan sinking a pair of three-pointers to cut the lead to 18, and Cameron Pengelly had a put back to make it 39-23 with :30 left in the first half. On their final trip down the floor, Brady Zimmerman answered with a three for the Tigers to make it 42-23 at the half.

“Our team works really well together, and we’re all like brothers here,” said senior Nolan Fitzgerald. “We get out there on the floor and work to make sure that we do things right, and that leads to success.”

Unfortunately for Palmerton, the best was yet to come for Northwestern, as the third quarter saw the Tigers outscore the Bombers 17-0 by continuing to force turnovers and out-rebound Palmerton. The Tigers had 10 offensive rebounds, and turned them into 14 points, while also turning 20 turnovers into 18 points.

Northwestern seniors Gavin Nelson and Shane Marth both provided highlight plays on back-to-back trips down the floor by Palmerton. Nelson swiped the ball away and raced to the basket from just inside half court and finished the play with a mighty dunk. On the next trip down by the Bombers, Marth duplicated the play to put Northwestern up 53-23 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.

“We did a really good job, especially in the second and third quarters of controlling the game defensively, and that’s what we preach,” said coach Patrick Wanamaker. “We were able to score a little bit in the first half and our defense got a lot of stops, and that let us run the floor the way we need to. I’m really proud of the guys.”

Nelson finished with 17 points, while Marth finished with 12. They were joined by classmates Fitzgerald who had 11 points, and Eli Zimmerman, who finished with 10.

“It was nice to showcase our seniors tonight because they deserve it. I’ve had them for two years now, and they have all worked hard and accepted their role with the team, and I have confidence in all of them,” said Wanamaker. “A guy like Nolan Fitzgerald comes to practice every day and works his tail off. He has a role on the team, and he has bought into that role, and tonight he showed what he is capable of doing for us. He just has a lot of really talented players around him, or he would be getting more time.”

Fitzgerald and Wambold have both been valuable off the bench for Wanamaker, and each of them knows what the team looks to them to do when they get into games.

“I feel really good about my role with the team. Everybody has to play a role, and none of them are too small, so I feel like I can contribute when I get on the court,” said Wambold.

DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS … Palmerton has one game remaining and will play Northern Lehigh Tuesday night, which will end its season. The Blue Bombers have been eliminated from both the league and district playoffs. Northwestern will return to the court Saturday in the opening round of the Colonial League playoffs and will most likely host Salisbury. The potential for snow and ice on Saturday could force the league to change the date.

PALMERTON

Serfass 2-0-0-5, Carrelli 0-0-0-0, Pengelly 2-0-0-4, Reph 0-0-0-0, Anthony 2-0-0-4, George 0-0-0-0, Delgado 0-0-0-0, Zulik 2-0-0-5, Jedrejeczyk 3-0-0-6, McGowan 2-0-0-6, Ahner 0-0-2-0, Stahler 1-0-0-3, Borger 1-0-0-3, Takerer 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-0-2-36.

NORTHWESTERN

E. Zimmerman 4-2-2-10, Wambold 0-0-0-0, Nelson 7-2-2-17, Marth 5-0-2-12, Fitzgerald 4-2-2-11, Krimmel 1-0-0-3, Bollinger 2-0-2-4, Fitch 2-0-0-4, B. Zimmerman 2-0-0-6, Coleman 1-0-0-2, Berk 0-0-0-0, Lagowy 0-0-0-0, Wertman 1-0-0-2, Moyer 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 29-6-10-71.

Palmerton 9 14 0 13 - 36

Northwestern 18 24 17 12 - 71

Three-pointers: Palmerton - McGowan 2, Serfass 1, Zulik 1, Stahler 1, Borger 1; Northwestern - Marth 2, B. Zimmerman 2, Nelson 1, Krimmel 1, Fitzgerald 1.

Records: Palmerton (7-14; 6-11 CL); Northwestern (20-2; 17-1).