In a game where leads were fleeting, Northwestern got some hot three-point shooting from Nick Henry and timely defense to pick up a 46-38 Colonial League win over Northern Lehigh. The win puts the Tigers at 10-8 overall, and 7-7 in the Colonial League as they battle for spots in both the league and district playoffs.

Henry came up big with a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter, cutting the Bulldogs’ (4-15 overall, 3-11 Colonial League) lead to 33-31. When the final quarter opened, he hit a second three-pointer from almost the exact same spot to put the Tigers back in the lead for the first time since midway through the third.

“After that first one, I just knew I was hot and I just started putting up more – a couple of them I probably shouldn’t have – and it turned out that we needed them,” said Henry, who finished with 11 points.

After the teams exchanged foul shots and the game was tied, Henry again hit from beyond the arc and put the Tigers up 38-35 with 5:08 left in the game. From that point, Northwestern was able to hold on to the lead and stretch it out late in the game with good foul shooting from Sean McCann and Luke Hallman, who combined to hit five-of-six from the foul line.

“Nick’s three-pointer at the end of the third quarter was really big,” said Tigers’ coach Billy Hallman. “That one gave us a little confidence, and then he stayed hot and got a couple more, and it really led us through the rest of the game.”

The teams opened the night trading three-pointers as they combined for five treys in the first quarter, with McCann hitting two for Northwestern. Henry also put Northwestern up at the end of the first quarter when he hit a jumper with :03 left to make it a 12-10 game. McCann would sink his third three-pointer of the night with 6:24 left in the second quarter, giving the Tigers a 16-14 edge.

Northern Lehigh’s Zach Moyer forced another lead change when he drained a three-pointer with 3:53 left to play in the second quarter, putting the Bulldogs up 19-18. Kole Richards would make it 21-18 when he scored from down low less than a minute later.

Grant Olewine hit Northern Lehigh’s fourth three-pointer with 1:46 left in the first half, giving the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game at the time, a 24-19 advantage.

“That’s not really our type of game to be exchanging three-pointers,” said Bulldogs coach Jeff Miller. “We were hitting them though, and they kept us in the game.”

The Tigers defense seemed to stiffen as the game wore on, and they allowed Northern Lehigh just five points over the final nine-minutes of the game. Northwestern put together seven unanswered points in the last quarter ahead of McCann and Hallman’s foul shooting to put the game away.

“We’re not going to just give up and back down from anybody,” said Henry. “We’re fighting for that last playoff spot because we really want to get into the league playoffs and districts, so we’re not going to go away.”

BIG NIGHT FOR THE SENIORS

... Prior to the game, Northwestern fans saluted the team’s six senior players – Deven Bollinger, Vinny Castrine, Luke Hallman, Derek Hebelka, Sean McCann and Joe Pleban - and senior team manager Jake Flexer. Northwestern’s final four games of the season are all on the road.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Hammond 1-0-0-3, Richards 3-3-5-9, Olewine 4-0-0-10, D. Smith 0-0-0-0, Moyer 4-0-0-9, C. Smith 2-0-0-5, Merlatt 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 15-3-5-38

NORTHWESTERN

Hebelka 1-3-6-5, Fitch 0-0-0-0, Bollinger 3-1-3-7, McCann 3-2-2-11, Castrine 2-0-0-5, Henry 4-0-0-11, Hallman 0-4-6-4, Pleban 0-0-0-0, Zack 0-0-0-0, Stitzel 0-0-0-0, Garrido 0-3-4-3. TOTALS: 13-13-21-46

Northern Lehigh 10 14 9 5 - 38

Northwestern 12 9 10 15 - 46

Three-pointers: NL – Olewine 2, Hammond 1, Moyer 1, C. Smith 1. NW– McCann 3, Henry 3, Castrine 1.