BANGOR — Bangor didn’t take a lead until late in the game.

But when the Slaters went ahead, they never looked back in 61-57 win over Lehighton in the quarterfinal round of the Colonial League boys basketball playoffs Friday night.

Lehighton saw a seven-point lead disappear over three minutes late in the fourth quarter when Bangor scored nine straight points to take the lead with just under four minutes left in the game.

“There was a stretch where it felt like they scored on seven or eight straight possessions,” said Lehighton head coach Trevor Miller. “It was just a snowball rolling down hill. We couldn’t get stops. In that stretch I thought we missed some easy shots, including two or three lay ups that would have increased our lead. Then they go down and score. Once they got moving they just kept going.”

Lehighton had a 50-43 lead when Joe Roth (10 points) hit a three-pointer with just over six minutes left in the game. But the Tribe didn’t make another field goal until there were just five seconds left in the game.

The Slaters’ 9-0 run took less than two minutes, as a Jason Cruciani basket gave them a 51-50 lead with 3:41 left. It was their first lead of the game, and they kept going from there.

A three-pointer from Alex Farnsbach and a steal and lay up from Exavior Prado (game-high 21 points) gave Bangor a 57-52 lead with just over a minute left in the game.

After Prado made two free throws to extend the lead to seven points, the Slaters made just two of eight free throws down the stretch. But their defense didn’t allow the Indians to capitalize.

“We have seven seniors,” said Bangor head coach Colin Kessler. “They did not want to lose on their home floor the last time they’re going to play on it.

“We ended up going away from our match because Lehighton was dicing it up. We went man. We did a great job. I’m very proud of their effort.”

Prado, who was held to just five points in the first half, exploded with 16 second-half points.

“Xavier Prado can get to the basket the majority of the time if he wants to,” said Kessler. “He needs to start doing that more in the playoffs because if he does, we’re going to be a lot tougher to cover.”

Prado shot 4-for-7 from the floor in the second half and went 3-for-4 at the foul line. He also dished out both of his assists in the second half.

“One of the things in our scouting report was that we can’t let him get to the bucket, especially going to his right hand,” said Miller. “I thought late in the game we got away from what contained him early. When you let him get to his right hand he’s tough because he can finish.”

The Slaters also got a big game from 6-foot-5 Michael Bucher, who blocked three shots in the first half and pulled down seven rebounds in the game while scoring 13 points.

“Mike is a huge asset for us,” said Kessler. “Nobody’s improved in our program for us over the last four years more than him. He’s 6-5, so that helps alter shots. He does a great job of using his body on offense as well.”

After a tight first quarter, Lehighton jumped out to a 25-17 lead late in the second period as Brayden Johnson, Blake Roberts and Cole Dietz (17 points) all hit three-pointers. The Indians held eight-point leads several times in the game, including at the end of the third quarter before the Slaters started chipping away.

NEXT ROUND....The No. 4 seed Slaters move on to face No. 8 seed Catasauqua in the semifinals Monday at Southern Lehigh at 7:30 p.m. The Rough Riders upset top-seeded Notre Dame (Green Pond) 69-66 in the first round. The other semifinal features No. 2 Northwestern against No. 3 Sacuon Valley Monday at Northern Lehigh at 7:30 p.m.

ON TO DISTRICTS...Lehighton will compete in the District 11 4A Tournament on Feb. 21. The Indians are currently fourth in the district rankings. “We have two weeks now to get ourselves back on track,” said Miller. “ I don’t know who we’ll be playing, depends on where things shake out. We’ve got a lot of stuff we have to work on right now and that’s what we’re going to do in the next two weeks.”

LEHIGHTON

Solt 0-0-0-0, Light 4-0-0-9, Meek 1-0-0-2, Fairchild 0-0-0-0, Johnson 2-1-2-7, Roberts 4-3-4-12, Roth 4-2-2-10, Dietz 5-2-2-17. TOTALS: 20-8-12-57.

BANGOR

Prado 7-5-6-21, McShane 4-2-2-10, Bucher 4-5-8-13, Gaines 0-0-2-0, Farensbach 3-0-0-8, Singer 0-0-0-0, Cruciani 4-1-5-9. TOTALS 22-13-23-62.

Lehighton 14 14 17 12 - 57

Bangor 12 9 16 24 - 61

Three-pointers: Lehighton - Dietz 5, Johnson 2, Solt 1, Roberts 1; Bangor - Prado 2, Farensbach 2.

Records: Bangor (16-7 overall; 14-5 Colonial League); Lehighton (16-7 overall; 12-7 Colonial League)