Playoff basketball is all about momentum.

In a close game between two evenly matched teams, it doesn’t take much of a run to capture a momentum-changing moment.

On Friday night, in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 4A playoffs, the Wilson Warriors were able to do just that against Northern Lehigh.

A key Warriors surge at the end of the third quarter gave them the momentum they needed to finish off the Bulldogs, advancing to the semis with a 66-52 victory.

“Hey, last time we played these guys they went to the foul line 37 times,” said Wilson head coach Mike Glovas. “(Brandon) Hess and (Preston) Kemmery killed us, so we had to try and get them out of the half court and pressure them and our guys really turned it up

“Everyone that came in stepped up. The kids really brought a lot of energy in the third.”

The teams played almost even basketball for two quarters, with Northern Lehigh holding a one-point advantage at the break.

But the momentum started shifting when Wilson decided to go to full court pressure early in the third quarter. The Warriors went on a 6-0 run generated from their pressure to lead 38-32 around the five-minute mark.

The Bulldogs hung in, getting back within three, but the last minute of the third belonged to the Warriors. A Matt Glovas bucket off a steal and then back-to-back makes from Robbie Swiatek — a deuce and a deep three from the top of the key at the buzzer completed a 7-0 Wilson run.

Five Northern Lehigh turnovers in the third quarter combined with a 3-for-10 shooting performance aided Wilson’s 10-point advantage heading into the fourth.

“Turnovers and we just couldn’t finish tonight. I thought we got good looks and we got to the rim, but we just couldn’t get them to fall,” said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Miller. “I think too, they were able to take advantage of us with their pressure because we don’t have that second ball handler in the full court. The lack of that second ball handler hurt.”

In the fourth, momentum was clearly on the Warriors’ side and they certainly played like it. Wilson took advantage of its double-digit lead, taking care of the basketball and making foul shots in critical moments.

The Warriors went 12-for-18 in the quarter from the foul line with Swiatek hitting 8-of-10 from the charity stripe in the frame.

LEADERS ... Swiatek had 23 points to lead Wilson. Charbel Ghaleb added 14 points and Sam Brown scored 10. For Northern Lehigh, Kemmery came through with 23 points. Zach Moyer added nine and Nick Seier chipped in with eight.

NEXT UP ... Wilson will move on to face No. 1 seed Bethlehem Catholic on Tuesday at a time and place to be announced.

STILL PROUD ... “Hey, not many people gave us a chance to be here. These kids are a great group, play so hard, and they really wanted it tonight. I feel so bad for them. But I told them. ‘Focus on the good. Don’t focus on just this game.’ I’m very proud of these guys,” said Miller.

NO. LEHIGH

Keller 1-2-2-5, Kemery 6-11-14-23, Moyer 3-2-2-9, Seier 4-0-0-8, Kroll 0-0-0-0, Berger 1-0-0-2, 1-0-0-3, Mujovich 0-0-0-0, Smith 0-0-0-0, Richards 1-0-0-2, Totals: 17-15-18-52.

WILSON

Javier 0-2-2-2, Glovas 3-1-2-7, Swiatek 5-10-12-23, Ghaleb 7-0-5-15, McKinney 3-0-0-6, Hindmarch 2-0-0-4, Brown 4-2-4-10. Totals: 24-15-23-66.

Northern Lehigh 15 16 7 14 - 52

Wilson 20 10 18 18 - 66

Three-pointers: NL - Keller 1, Moyer 1, Hess 1; W - Swiatek 3.