What better way to begin the high school basketball season than to have Palmerton play Lehighton in the battle for the Route 248 Trophy.

Both teams did not disappoint their coaches, with spirited play from baseline to baseline until the Bombers pulled away late in the game for a 50-43 win.

The opening period set the tone, with physical play and a frenetic tempo that ended with 13 total turnovers and nine called fouls. A jumper by Palmerton’s Jacob Grammes knotted the score at 8-8, one of four ties in a game that had several lead changes.

Lehighton’s Joe Roth scored on a driving layup with 20 seconds left in the period to give the home team a two-point lead after the first eight minutes.

Palmerton sophomore Matt Machalik, who led all scorers with 23 points on the night, tallied 10 of his team’s 14 second quarter points as the game became even more physical. At one point after bodies were crashing to the floor and players appeared dizzy from the hard contact, Bombers’ coach Ken Termini shouted, “It looks like a football game!”

The Tribe attained their biggest lead at 25-15 with a layup by Jack Lorenz with 2:20 left in the first half, but the Bombers scored the last seven points before intermission on a three-pointer and a put back by Machalik, and a spin-around, one-hander by Brayden Hosier.

Termini urged his team to build upon the momentum they earned to cut the halftime deficit to three points.

“We played a bit out of control for much of the half,” he said, “but that run at the end was because we settled down. We just needed to relax and play our game.”

Lehighton coach Trevor Miller liked what he saw from his team until the final two minutes.

“We were controlling the tempo,” he said, “and when we do that we’re capable of playing with anyone.”

At the start of the third, the Bombers began to take control of the boards on both ends of the court while Lehighton missed several makeable layups. Mackalik threw down a half dozen points in the period and was aided by a layup from Chase Reph, a jumper from Kyle Sebelin and a driving banker off the glass by Hosier that gave the Bombers a 34-33 lead with 10 seconds to go in the third.

“We had flashes of good play, but we left too many points out there with the missed layups,” said Miller.

Termini said there wasn’t much strategy in his team’s comeback. “We play best when we just go up and down the court and let the game come to us,” he explained.

Lehighton rallied to take a one point lead on Roth’s put back with 5:50 to go in the game, but Zach Anthony’s free throw returned the lead to Palmerton, which would never be relinquished. Anthony, who twice tumbled hard to the floor in the game, sank five of six from the charity stripe in the waning minutes to seal the victory for the Bombers.

After the game, Miller praised his team’s effort, but said they need to play the full 32 minutes to be successful.

“We have to box out better to get rebounds, be stronger with the ball, and finish our layups,” he said. “The little things will get us a lot of wins this season.”

Termini was proud of his group’s winning the trophy.

“This is a great win for our team and the community,” he said. ‘We did this playing three sophomores most of the game and the outcome means a lot to us and the people of Palmerton.”

ONE AND DONE ... The pace of the first half was back-and-forth, as players raced up and down the court due to the lack of offensive rebounding after missed shots.

HOLDING THE GOLD ... With the win, the Bombers keep the 248 Trophy and have won three of the four games since the award has been offered to the winner of the rivalry.

PALMERTON

Michalik 10-1-2-23, Zack 1-7-8-9, Hosier 3-2-3-8, K. Sebelin 1-2-3-4, J. Sebelin 1-0-0-2, Reph 1-0-0-2, Grammes 1-0-0-2, Robinson 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-11-12-50.

LEHIGHTON

Roth 6-0-1-13, Lorenz 4-1-2-10, Costenbader 2-5-6-9, Brayden 2-2-3-6, Hoke 1-0-0-3, Rehrig 1-0-0-2, Blauch 0-0-0-0, Johnson 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-8-12-43.

Palmerton 8 14 12 14 - 50

Lehighton 10 15 8 10 - 43

Three- pointers: Palmerton - Michalik 2; Lehighton - Lorenz 1, Roth 1, Hoke 1.