The first time that Catasauqua and Northern Lehigh squared off this year, the Rough Riders prevailed. In that contest, Isaiah Graves poured in 29 points, while Andrew Brett had 23, including seven threes.

Friday night at Northern Lehigh, it was quite a different outcome.This time, the Bulldogs' Preston Kemery drew the defensive assignment on Graves and limited his looks throughout the evening, allowing the talented senior to tally just 11 points. Meanwhile, Brett was limited to just two triples and eight points.The strong defense allowed the 'Dawgs to avenge that earlier loss with a 55-48 Colonial League victory.A huge third frame by the the Bulldogs turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 39-34 lead going into the fourth.Senior Joe Egan then took charge with a 9-for-14 free throw showing performance in the final period to help Northern Lehigh ice the win."It feels good to beat a team that we lost the first time we played them," Egan said. "We did a much better job of keeping Graves under control this time around."Kemery may have had only three points in the contest, but his contributions were immense, as he consistently contested Graves' shot attempts and hounded him incessantly."Preston is a relentless young man and we knew that if we put him on Graves, he would do the best possible job," Northern Lehigh head coach Jeff Miller said. "He thrives at those defensive assignments and likes the challenge of guarding the opponents' top threat."Catty had managed a 28-24 lead at the break thanks to timely shooting. The Roughies connected on four three-point attempts in that first half, and were 11-for-24 (46 percent) from the floor before the intermission. However, the Bulldog defense stepped up in the second half as Catty converted just 2-of-13 threes and 7-of-27 shots from the floor overall in the second half."For the young squad like we have, this is a confidence builder," Miller said. "We talk a lot about making teams come here and have to scrap for everything that they get. Tonight, I thought we stepped up and took care of our home-court advantage."A 13-2 run opened the third for the Bulldogs as Hess' six points highlighted that spree. But Cam Ritter's three-pointer and a free throw by freshman Jalen Green cut into the Northern Lehigh to three points with just seconds left in the third quarter.That was when Egan took the ball the length of the court and buried a turn-around jumper in the lane for the 39-34 lead, going into the final eight."We look to Joe for his leadership and in tight games, we want him to be able to take over," Miller said. "I think he's done a great job of that and he's not only scoring, but looking to involve the others a lot as well."In fact, in the fourth, Egan had a part to play in all but four of his team's 16 points as he made nine free throws and assisted Hess on a triple.AGAIN AND EGAN ... Egan's fingerprints were all over this victory, as he scored 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the well-rounded effort. Hess followed with 16.THAT'S FOUL! The Bulldogs were drawing fouls throughout the game as several Catty players faced foul trouble. Graves fouled out with 2:36 remaining in the game while Green and Colin Hawk followed with their fifth shortly afterward. Northern Lehigh was in the bonus with nearly six minutes left in the game.CATASAUQUAGraves 5-1-2-11, Green 4-5-6-15, Hawk 2-0-1-4, Bond 2-0-0-4, Brett 3-0-0-8, Ritter 2-0-0-6, Martinez 0-0-0-0, Troxell 0-0-0-0, Sparacello 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-6-9-48.NORTHERN LEHIGHKemery 0-3-4-3, Egan 4-13-19-21, Seier 1-0-0-3, Seiler 1-1-2-3, Long 0-0-0-0, Hess 5-2-3-16, Colon 3-3-4-9. TOTALS: 14-22-32-55.Catasauqua 14 14 6 14 - 48Northern Lehigh 15 9 15 16 - 55Three pointers: C - Ritter 2, Brett 2, Green 2; NL - Hess 4, Seier 1.