Discipline and defense certainly go well together in the game of basketball.

On Thursday, Northwestern Lehigh showcased both against rival Palmerton.

The Tigers (2-2), stayed locked in offensively when running their sets, and also put together a strong defensive effort that propelled them to a 52-47 Colonial League victory.

Northwestern’s defensive effort in the first half was impressive, as it held the Bombers (1-2) to just 16 points and forced 10 turnovers, including six in the first quarter. The Palmerton turnover woes helped Northwestern build a nine-point lead at intermission.

Ethan Lazarus was big for the Tigers in the second quarter when they stretched their lead, scoring six of his 12 points.

“Offensively, a lot of this stuff is new to these guys, so we know we’re going to have some off nights, but tonight the kids did a great job of running our sets, moving the ball, executing, and most importantly, not turning it over,” said Northwestern head coach Jerry Lloyd. “Our goal early in the season has been to play consistently on the defensive end, and we played well defensively tonight.

“I thought we set the tone defensively early on. We knew we had to come out and get off to a really good start, and the way you do that is by playing good defense.”

The Bombers, who looked disorganized early on against the Tigers’ box-and-one defensive strategy, bounced back in the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers by six and scored 20 points in the frame.

Seniors Austyn White and Kody Kratzer got the Palmerton offense going as it closed to within three heading into the fourth quarter.

Kratzer scored six in the quarter, and White got hot from beyond the arc, hitting three triples and a pull up jumper, scoring 11 of his 16 points. A 9-0 run around the four-minute mark got the Bombers back within striking distance.

“I give our kids praise for battling back when we were down double digits, but there’s no doubt we need to get out of the habit of falling behind,” said Palmerton head coach Ken Termini. “Credit has to go to Northwestern; they worked their stuff really well.

“I think we could’ve played better offensively. I think we missed some shots that we usually make, and we weren’t good from the free-throw line. It’s also tough that we weren’t able to get any points inside, because it’s difficult to win a game on the perimeter.”

Palmerton carried its momentum into the fourth quarter and took a 40-39 lead midway through the quarter.

But throughout the night, whenever the Bombers seemed poised to get over the hump, the Tigers’ consistency and continuity on the offensive end resulted in buckets.

The two teams continued to battle late in the fourth with the score knotted at 47-47 with a little over a minute remaining. That’s when the Bomber foul situation came into play as Northwestern had been shooting the bonus since early in the quarter.

Two free throws by Cayden Fitch put the Tigers up two. Northwestern would connect on three more down the stretch, while shutting out the Bombers the rest of the way.

LEADERS … Dylan Witkowski and Lazarus led the Tigers with 12 points each. For the Bombers, Kratzer scored 22 points and White added 16.

CLOSING IN … Kratzer needs just 21 more points to join the 1,000-point club. Palmerton’s next game is at home Tuesday.

NORTHWESTERN

Fitch 3-2-2-8; Christopher 3-3-4-9; Holmes 1-1-3-4; Henry 2-0-0-4; Dylan Witkowski 5-0-0-12; Stitzel 0-1-2-1; Ethan Lazarus 5-2-2-12; Garrido 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 20-9-13-52

PALMERTON

Connell 1-1-1-3; Kratzer 9-4-5-22; Austyn White 6-0-0-16; Reph 1-0-2-2; Whitney 0-0-0-0; Sebelin 0-0-0-0; Hosier 1-0-0-2; Frank 0-0-0-0; Buck 0-0-2-0, Machalik 1-0-1-2. TOTALS: 19-5-11-47

Northwestern 12 13 14 13 – 52

Palmerton 8 8 20 11 – 47

Three-pointers: NW - Witkowski 2, Holmes 1. Palmerton - White 4.