DISTRICT 11 CLASS AAA BOYS CONSOLATION

No. 1 Northern Lehigh (19-5 overall, 11-3 Colonial League)vs. No. 3 North Schuylkill (16-8 overall, 7-5 Schuylkill League)TIPOFF: Friday, March 2nd at 7 p.m. at Blue MountainCOACHES: Northern Lehigh - Jeff MIller; North Schuylkill - Kurt ZiegmontLEADING SCORERS: Northern Lehigh - Lucas Pierce (6-7, 11.4 ppg), Caleb Johnson (6-5, 9.9 ppg), Devin Glose (6-2, 8.4 ppg).GAME NOTES: No. 1 seed Northern Lehigh is coming into their match-up with North Schuylkill with a vengeance after an upset loss to Wilson in the semifinal. The Bulldogs beat Wilson by five in the regular season... The Bulldogs are looking to get back to the PIAA State Tournament for the first time since 2008. They qualified for states in back-to-back years qualifying in the 06-07 season and then in 07-8. Northern Lehigh lost to Notre Dame in the District 11 AA Championship in 2007 and in 2008 defeated upcoming foe North Schuylkill for the District 11 AA Championship. The Bulldogs went on to lose a tough game against Imhotep Charter in the first round of state play 64-61. Imhotep eventually went on to play in the PIAA Class-AA Championship game... Both teams are tough on the defensive end with Northern Lehigh giving up just 41.7 ppg which is good for 43rd best in the state. North Schuylkill gives up just 44.7 ppg... Both teams average about the same offensive output with North Schuylkill scoring 53.44 ppg and Northern Lehigh scoring 52.3... Northern Lehigh is 4-0 against the Schuylkill League this season and 7-0 against common opponents with the Spartans. North Schuylkill is 2-0 against Colonial League teams this season and 8-0 against common opponents with the Bulldogs... North Schuylkill advanced to the semifinal where they lost to Allentown Central Catholic after a win over Southern Lehigh 48-45. The Bulldogs beat Southern Lehigh 58-47 during the regular season...QUOTEABLE: "It's key for us to handle their man-to-man pressure. We haven't seen pressure like this all season long so it's important for our guards to take care of the basketball and not turn it over. It's going to be a physical game so we have to mentally prepare ourselves so we don't get into foul trouble. We also have to bounce back and rebound better this game. There has not been many game this season where we have been out-rebounded, but Wilson did that to us last game. We have to really work hard on the boards because we know North Schuylkill is a tough physical bunch. Again if we take care of the ball and get it inside to our bigs where we can take advantage of our size I think we'll be fine." Northern Lehigh head coach Jeff Miller