Just when Northern Lehigh found a way to stop Sam Yadush from cutting down the lane to score, he would pull up from beyond the arc and nail three-pointers.

Yadush’s combination of inside and outside scoring made for a very frustrating night for the Northern Lehigh defense.

Thanks in large part to Yadush’s contributions, Northwestern picked up a 56-43 win in a key Colonial League matchup.

Yadush finished the night with 18 points to lead all scorers. Preston Kemery led Northern Lehigh with 11 points in the game.

The win was a key one for the Tigers (3-3 overall, 3-2 Colonial), who were hit by the rigors of a tough and busy schedule early in the season.

For a Northwestern team which returned all of its starters from last season, the win over Northern Lehigh (1-4, 1-4) could serve as a turning point to the season.

“We needed this one,” said coach Billy Hallman. “We finally had three days off to practice and work on a few things and I think it showed tonight.

“It’s been rough to just have a day off and all you can do is get ready for the next game. Hopefully, we’ll look back at tonight and see that this was where things started to go our way.”

The first quarter went back-and-forth and looked like it might end in a 12-12 tie. As time ran down, Luke Hallman launched a three-pointer from the left corner and got nothing but net to give the Tigers a three-point lead.

In the second quarter, Yadush drove the lane to pick up a foul while the ball fell nicely through the net. After burying the foul shot, Northwestern led 18-14 and on the next trip down the floor, Luke Hallman hit a three-pointer to make it 21-14 halfway through the quarter.

“We were a lot more patient tonight than we’ve been,” said coach Hallman. “I think that’s part of having some time to relax. We stressed that in practice and we really put it to work tonight.”

The Bulldogs had cut it to 23-20 and closed up the middle that Yadush was exploiting, which forced him outside where he drained a three-pointer to put Northwestern up 26-20 at halftime.

Northwestern put the game away in the second half as Yadush hit two three-pointers in the third quarter and Devin Thomas found himself pulling down offensive rebounds and putting them back up for points. Thomas would continue the practice in the fourth quarter and wound up with 10 of his 14 points coming in the second half.

“He has the ability to do that,” said coach Hallman of Thomas’ rebounding ability. “He can do a lot of damage in those spots and he can be tough to keep out of there, too.”

TROPHY TIME... At halftime of the girls game, Mike Haines of the Times News presented Deven Bollinger with his trophy in honor of his selection as the Lehigh Valley Health Network Football Player of the Year. Bollinger led the Tigers offense with both his arm and legs this season, taking Northwestern to the semifinals of the District 11 playoffs.

MORE TIME OFF... Coach Hallman has to get his team through a game at Pottsville Saturday night before starting the Christmas break. After that, there’s one more game before a break for the New Year’s holiday and then back to the regular grind after the holidays. Hallman pointed out that even with the hectic schedule, his team has been able to remain healthy.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Keller 1-0-0-2, Mujovic 1-0-0-2, Richards 0-0-0-0, Olewine 2-0-0-4, Kemery 4-3-4-11, Moyer 4-2-2-10, Seier 1-0-0-2, Kroll 0-0-0-0, Berger 1-0-0-2, Hess 4-0-0-10, Smith 0-0-0-0, TOTALS 18-5-6-43

NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH

Rosamalia 0-0-0-0, Hebelka 1-0-0-2, Seyfried 1-1-2-3, Yadush 7-1-1-18, Holmes 0-0-0-0, Hagadus 0-0-0-0, Bollinger 1-0-0-2, McCann 1-0-0-2, Rebert 0-0-0-0, Henry 0-0-0-0, Snyder 2-0-0-4, Thomas 7-0-0-14, Holmes 0-0-0-0, Garrido 0-0-0-0, Hallman 4-1-1-11, TOTALS 24-3-4-56

Northern Lehigh 12 8 4 19 - 43

Northwestern 15 11 18 12 - 56

Three-pointers: NL – Hess (2); NW – Yadush (3), Hallman (2)