EASTON - Brendan Boyle was named Colonial League Boys Basketball MVP by the coaches last week. He wanted to show that it was no fluke and deserving.

So the Notre Dame Green Pond junior put on a record-setting performance, throwing down 42 points to lead the Crusaders to a 80-61 victory over Palmerton in a Colonial League semifinal playoff Wednesday night on his home floor.

Boyle’s performance was not only a career high, but also set a school record.

“He was tremendous tonight,” said Notre Dame coach Pat Boyle, who is also Brendan’s father. “Just an unbelievable performance – not too much you can say. I want to see his shot chart. I think he shot a really, really high percentage, too.”

The Crusaders - behind 11 points from Boyle in the first quarter - jumped out to a 25-11 lead after the first eight minutes.

But the Bombers put on a run in the second quarter, despite leading scorer Kody Kratzer in foul trouble, and cut it to seven at intermission (34-27) as Tyler Stuck led the way with five and freshman Matt Machalik added four.

Notre Dame was held to single digits during a quarter for the first time all season.

Palmerton was still within reach as Machalik scored to make it 46-39 with over two minutes left in the third quarter, but then the floodgates opened as Boyle hit four treys and Joe Galle added two more to widen the Crusaders lead to 58-41 entering the final eight minutes.

In the run, Boyle hit a deep three, then hit another from what looked like it was from NBA range. He added another, and then used a shot fake for one more.

“Boyle played incredible,” said Palmerton head coach Ken Termini. “You can’t take anything away from him. That’s why he’s the MVP. He had an absolutely great game tonight and put his team on his shoulders and carried them all.

“They came out with great energy; it took us a while to respond and I thought we did. The game didn’t flow in a manner that I thought was conducive in a way for us to come back.”

On the other side, his dad knew it was important for Brendan to step up.

“We needed him tonight,” Pat said. “He misses a couple of those and they get a runout, it’s a completely different game. He really stepped up in a big spot.”

Boyle closed out the game with three more treys and a two-pointer in the fourth before both coaches cleared their benches.

Besides Boyle, Na Ka Carew also hit double figures for the winners with 11 points. Stuck and Machalik had 12 points apiece, and Owen Buck added 10 for the Bombers.

BOYLE BLITZ

... Boyle ended up making 13-of-18 from the field, including 9-for-12 from beyond the arc. He also made 7-of-8 foul shots.

LIMITED

... Kratzer was held to nine points, the first time all season he’s not hit double figures. His previous season-low was 11 points in a 60-32 Colonial League victory over Moravian Academy on Feb. 15.

NEXT UP

... The Crusaders will meet Bangor on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Moravian Academy for the league title. The Bombers will now wait for District 11 3A action to begin on March 6, when they will host a first round game.

STREAK ENDS

... Palmerton’s 10-game win streak came to a halt, but Termini isn’t worried. “We’ll let it sting overnight, then maybe take a day off and we’ll get back to work for the district tournament,” he said.

PALMERTON

Connell 2-0-0-4, Kratzer 3-3-6-9, White 2-0-0-6, Reph 0-0-0-0, Whitney 0-0-0-0, Robinson 0-0-0-0, K. Sebelin 0-0-0-0, Bates 0-0-0-0. Hosier 2-0-0-5, Stuck 5-0-0-12, Frank 0-0-0-0, Buck 5-0-0-10, Machalik 5-2-2-12, Rumfield 0-2-2-2, J. Sebelin 0-0-0-0, Anthony 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 24-8-12-61.

NOTRE DAME

B. Boyle 13-7-8-42, Rickert 2-1-1-5, Becker 0-0-0-0, Carew 5-1-1-11, Howlett 2-2-2-7, Carson 0-0-1-0, Rodgers 1-0-0-2, Galle 3-1-2-9. Altmire 1-2-2-4, C. Boyle 0-0-1-0. TOTALS: 27-14-18-80.

Palmerton 11 16 14 20 - 61

Notre Dame 25 9 24 22 - 80

Three-pointers: P - White 2, Stuck 2, Hosier 1. ND - B. Boyle 9, Galle 2, Howlett 1.