After struggling through losses in their first three games this season, it was beginning to look like it would be a long year for Northwestern.

Just as things looked bleak, the Tigers produced a dominating performance from beginning to end to down visiting Lehighton 60-30 on Saturday.

The win included hitting nine three-pointers and defensively, forcing one turnover after another and adding points off those miscues.

Gavin Nelson finished with a season-high 17 points and Cayden Fitch tied his career-high with a 15-point performance for Northwestern (1-3).

Nelson got things started by hitting a pair of three-pointers before Fitch hit his first. From there, a 9-0 run saw Lehighton use up two timeouts, attempting to set things right.

Fitch hit two more from beyond the arc in the second quarter, and by halftime Northwestern was up 33-22.

“(Hitting threes) is a big weapon for us,” said Nelson. “It helps us spread the floor and helps our big men to drive the lane and get into the paint because the defense can’t collapse on them.

“We have guys who can hit three-pointers, so we have to take advantage of that.”

The Tigers showed no signs of mercy in the second half. After scoring the final four points of the second quarter, they opened the third by scoring 13 straight points, breaking the game open at 46-22 for their biggest lead at the time.

Lehighton (2-3) went from 2:23 left in the first half to 3:08 remaining on the clock in the third quarter without getting a basket until Joe Roth hit on a drive to the lane. Cole Dietz added a couple foul shots to make it 48-26 after three quarters.

“We are young and don’t have a lot of size, but what we do have is a lot of guys on the roster who can hit three-pointers,” said second-year Northwestern coach Cory Cesare. “Fitch is one of the best three-point shooters in the league, so we are going to try to get him those looks whenever we can.

“I also think that inserting Mason Bollinger into the starting lineup tonight made us a little more athletic down low, and he and Del Tyler finished for us.”

Bollinger, a freshman, finished with seven points, while Tyler had nine for the Tigers. Lehighton was led by Roth with nine, while Dietz had eight and John Light added six.

In the fourth quarter, freshman Braidon Berk and sophomores Brandan Miller and Nolan Fitzgerald came off the bench to hit baskets for Northwestern. Berk also picked up three rebounds late in the game.

“I feel like this is the big win that is really going to get our team going,” said Nelson, who is also a sophomore. “It’s going to push the momentum.

“In the first few games we weren’t gelling as a team, and I feel like in this game we picked up the tempo and started working together as a team. This was definitely the best game we have played so far.”

ONE UP, ONE DOWN ... The early season has been a roller coaster for the Indians. Their two wins are nestled between losses on each side. Their two wins have been by an average of 32 points, while their three losses have been by an average of 20 points through the first five games of the season.

BABY TIGERS ... This year’s team is among the youngest ever to take the court for Northwestern, or any other school. The roster has just one senior (Fitch) and one junior (Ethan Kozlowski). The young group gives Cesare an opportunity to put his stamp on the program.

LEHIGHTON

Light 1-3-3-6, Serfass 0-0-0-0, Blauch 1-0-0-2, Johnson 2-0-0-5, Roberts 0-0-0-0, Smith 0-0-0-0, Kemmerer 0-0-0-0, Roth 4-1-1-9, Dietz 2-2-2-8, Acosta 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-6-6-30.

NORTHWESTERN

Hite 0-0-0-0, Fitch 5-2-2-15, Wellings 0-0-0-0, Zimmerman 2-0-0-6, Wambold 0-0-0-0, Bollinger 3-0-0-7, Kozlowski 0-0-0-0, Nelson 7-0-0-17, Marth 0-0-0-0, Tyler 4-1-1-9, Miller 1-0-0-2, Fitzgerald 1-0-0-2, Berk 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 24-3-3-60.

Lehighton 8 14 4 4 - 30

Northwestern 18 15 15 12 - 60

Three-pointers: Lehighton - Dietz 2, Light 1, Johnson 1; Northwestern - Nelson 3, Fitch 3, Zimmerman 2, Bollinger 1.