Northwestern saved its best effort for the last quarter in Monday’s Colonial League semifinal matchup against Saucon Valley.

A huge Tigers run in the fourth — sparked by forcing timely turnovers and finishing with inside buckets — helped Northwestern defeat the Panthers, 55-47.

“They took it to us to start the second half,” said Tiger head coach Patrick Wanamaker. “Credit to them. So, going into that fourth, we talked about the defensive side of the ball and how that was going to get us back into the game. “They’re a tough team to combat when they have the lead. They’re patient and they spread you out. But down the stretch, we were able to get some stops, get some leak outs and force some turnovers, and our guys made great decisions. We just (made) a few more plays than they did.”

Northwestern led 18-14 after one after getting out to a 9-2 lead. The Tigers forced four turnovers in the first quarter and were led by Shane Marth’s nine points. The 6-6 Marth and the Panthers’ big man — 6-5 Adam Clark — battled throughout the night in the paint. Clark had a big first quarter for Saucon, matching Marth with nine to get the Panthers back in it.

Saucon started to generate some momentum in the second, taking the lead a few times in the frame. But both teams went into the half tied at 29-29. Still, the Panthers carried the momentum with Caleb Grim hitting an inside deuce at the buzzer off an offensive board.

At the start of the third, Saucon made its big move. A 7-0 run put the Panthers in control at 36-29 at the 4:48 mark. Back-to-back inside makes from Clark and Grim, along with a nice short jumper from Andrew Gilbert fueled the run. It wasn’t until the 3:05 mark of the third that the Tigers got their first points of the second half on a Gavin Nelson make.

The Panthers stayed in front throughout the third with a huge three from Gilbert with less than a minute to go in the quarter to extend the margin to 41-35. An Eli Zimmerman bucket late in the period made it a four-point game going into the fourth.

“For the first three quarters I thought we did a good job of taking care of the ball,” said Saucon Valley head coach Brett Snyder. “We’re a team that needs to get the ball inside to score. I thought we shared it well, and we didn’t over dribble or anything like that.

“But that’s a team that if you make mistakes, they’re going to make you pay in transition. Northwestern is a really good team. We just made a few mistakes later in the game against a team of that caliber that can burn you.”

A 5-0 Northwestern run to start the fourth was spurred by two early steals that led to two buckets for the Tigers. A Brady Krimmel steal that ended up in the hands of Gavin Nelson, and a Zimmerman steal that he wrestled away inside from Clark, put Northwestern back out in front by one (42-41) with 5:21 to play.

The big shot of the quarter came from Northwestern’s Josh Wambold. Trailing by one (43-42), Wambold set his feet after receiving a pass from the corner, and knocked down a smooth triple to give the Tigers a 45-43 lead at the 3:35 mark.

Marth later came through with a dagger. Leading by four (47-43), Marth finished a tough inside bucket and got fouled, completing the three-point to make it 50-43 with 1:31 remaining.

“Shane Marth is one of the most improved players I’ve ever seen from ninth grade to 12th grade,” said Wanamaker. “Shane has earned the right to be out there on the floor at all times, and he battled and made some huge shots for us. I couldn’t be more proud of his effort.”

The Tigers defense tightened up the rest of the way, and time just wasn’t on the Panthers side as Northwestern was able to hold on. The Tigers hit five free throws down the stretch to secure the eight-point victory.

“There has been a lot of winning going on at Northwestern Lehigh. And boys basketball has been a little overshadowed there in that realm, so that was definitely a goal for us,” said Wanamaker. “These kids have worked hard. They deserve it. But we just told them. Just because you deserve it, doesn’t mean it will happen. You have to go take it, and we’re excited for the opportunity to play for a championship on Friday.”

FOURTH-QUARTER RUN … The Tigers, at one point in the fourth, held an 18-3 edge in the scoring department against the Panthers. NW outscored SV 18-6 in the fourth.

LEADING SCORERS … Marth scored a game-high 18 points for the Tigers, while Zimmerman added 13 and Nelson tallied 11. For Saucon, Clark led the way with 16, Grim added 12 and Jack Robertson chipped in with 10.

CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT … Northwestern will take on Catasauqua in the Colonial League championship on Friday at Freedom High School at 7:30 p.m.

SAUCON VALLEY

Gilbert 2 0-0 5, Miller 2 0-0 4, Robertson 3 2-4 10, Clark 6 4-6 16, Grim 6 0-0 12, Chaffier 0 0-0 0, Weiss 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 6-10 47.

NORTHWESTERN

Krimmel 1 0-0 3, Bollinger 3 1-3 7, E. Zimmerman 5 2-6 13, Nelson 3 5-8 11, Marth 7 3-3 18, Wambold 1 0-0 3, Fitch 0 0-0 0, B. Zimmerman 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 11-20 55.

Saucon Valley 13 16 12 6 - 47

Northwestern 18 11 8 18 - 55

Three-pointers: Saucon Valley - Robertson 2, Gilbert 1; Northwestern - Krimmel 1, Marth 1, E. Zimmerman 1, Wambold 1.

Records: Saucon Valley (19-5); Northwestern (22-2).