Throughout the season, Palmerton and Northwestern Lehigh have jockeyed for position in the Colonial League standings.

The last time they met it was the Tigers with the edge as they beat the Blue Bombers in Palmerton to keep some separation between the two teams.

In Thursday night’s rematch, Palmerton traveled to New Tripoli already holding an edge in the standings and traveled home with an even bigger one after a 51-45 win at Northwestern.

Much like in the standings, the two teams went back-and-forth early in the game.

Palmerton (14-5 overall, 11-5 Colonial League) worked its way out to an early lead until Northwestern Lehigh gained footing and turned a four-point deficit into a five-point lead. Palmerton rallied late in the first quarter and led 14-11 at the buzzer - a lead that they would hang onto for the rest of the game.

“In a way, we kind of felt like we were chasing them all year, so it’s really good to come over here to Northwestern, which is a tough place to play, and come out with the win,” said Bombers coach Ken Termini.

Sophomore Brayden Hosier paced Palmerton in the second quarter, helping the Blue Bombers stretch their lead to as many as six points.

If Palmerton’s win had similarities to how their season has gone, so did Northwestern Lehigh’s loss.

The Tigers (9-10, 9-7) opened the season on a win streak before sliding backward. Just when it appeared they were about to tumble through the standings, they have been able to pick up some big wins to put themselves right back into the discussion for league playoffs.

Last night, Palmerton appeared poised to put the Tigers away only to see Northwestern mount a comeback and stop itself from falling into a deeper hole.

Down by six at the half, the teams traded buckets to open the third quarter until the Tigers’ Cayden Fitch hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to three. Palmerton rebuilt their six-point lead only to have Cade Christopher come up with a big basket, but Matt Machalik trumped Christopher’s shot with a three-pointer to make it 36-29.

Machalik delivered the closest thing to a knockout punch midway through the fourth quarter when he drove the lane for a basket and was fouled along the way. He nailed the ensuing freebie and on the next trip down the court, dropped in a three-pointer to make it 43-35 and give Palmerton its largest lead of the night.

“Getting rebounds and stops allows us to get into our transition game. When we can pull down the rebounds the way we did tonight, it really helps our offense by allowing us to get out and run,” said Termini.

Much of the credit for keeping Northwestern Lehigh in the game in the second half goes to Ethan Lazarus, who finished with 12 points, all of them coming over the game’s final two quarters.

“Ethan played very well and he has been much more consistent the last few games. Plus, he has done really well on the defensive end,” said Northwestern coach Cory Cesare. “His contribution was big in the fourth quarter and I am so happy with what he gave us, but it just wasn’t enough to get us a win.”

HERE’S YOUR TICKET, SIR ... The win locks up a spot for Palmerton in the Colonial League playoffs which begin in two weeks. The Tigers could conceivably win their final two games against Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua and not make the playoffs if Bangor wins their final four Colonial League games or Salisbury wins at least three of their final four league contests. Both teams have qualified for districts.

SUPER SOPHS ... Sophomore Machalik led the Bombers with 17 points. His classmate Hosier added 16 points.

BIG ON THE BOARDS ... Chase Reph led the Blue Bomers with eight rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.

PALMERTON

Machalik 6-3-4-17, Robinson 1-0-0-2, Reph 2-2-3-6, Grammas 2-2-2-6, Hosier 6-4-6-16, Anthony 1-0-2-2. Robinson 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 19-11-17-51

NORTHWESTERN

Fitch 2-2-2-8, Christopher 3-2-3-9, Mauro 0-0-0-0, Nelson 3-0-2-7, Lazarus 6-0-0-12, Heilman 0-0-0-0, Witkowski 4-1-2-9. TOTALS: 18-5-9-45.

Palmerton 14 12 12 13 - 51

Northwestern 11 9 13 12 - 45

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Machalik 2. Northwestern - Fitch 2, Christopher 1, Nelson 1.