Northwestern got off to a strong start and led after one quarter of play in its Colonial League boys basketball game with Palmerton on Thursday night.

From there on, however, the Blue Bombers simply flexed their muscles and pulled away.

The Blue Bombers used a 15-0 first-half run to take control went on to down the Tigers 52-38.

Northwestern built an early six-point lead thanks to three-pointers from Josh Wambold, Eli Zimmerman, Mason Bollinger, and Ethan Kozlowski before Palmerton worked to cut down the outside opportunities.

Kozlowski’s three put Northwestern up 14-8 with 2:14 left in the opening quarter, but that would be the last of the three-pointers of the night for the Tigers, and would also be their biggest lead of the game.

Palmerton used sharp passing and good ball handling to work for open shots and took the lead for good when Matt Machalik hit a jumper to open the second quarter. The Bombers would not allow another Northwestern basket until the 3:00 mark of the first half when Bollinger hit on a drive to the basket - by that time Palmerton had turned its early deficit into a 23-14 lead.

“We have a ton of chemistry because we have been playing with each other for a while, so I think that the passing just comes naturally with us,” said the Bombers’ Brayden Hosier, who finished with a game-high 15 points. “We game planned really well for this game, and we knew exactly what we were going to do tonight and executed everything well.”

The Tigers went down by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but the Tigers had a run left as they trimmed the margin to 34-28 early in the fourth quarter. But once again, Palmerton again flexed its muscles and worked the lead back to 14 when Machalik drove for a basket to make it 46-32 with under four minutes to play.

“Whenever teams have battled back against us this season, we haven’t let it get us down. We always fight back, and just keep fighting to give us a chance to win games,” said Hosier.

Northwestern used late fouls to try to close the gap, but were unable to get any closer than 12 points.

Palmerton had a distinct advantage on the boards - particularly early in the game - having pulled down six offensive rebounds in the first half. They would add three more in the second half, and scored a total of six points off their offensive boards. The numbers went down in the second half thanks to the presence of 6-5 sophomore Shane Marth in the Northwestern lineup. Marth had nine rebounds to go with a team-high 10 points for the Tigers.

“I think that’s a role that I can play for this team,” said Marth about his rebounding abilities. His 10 points were a career high for him in a varsity game.

WIN AND IN ... The win clinches a spot for Palmerton in the Colonial League playoffs, which begin Feb. 11. The Blue Bombers can clinch the division and lock up one of the top two seeds with a win over Southern Lehigh on Wednesday.

TRIPLE DOUBLE ... Palmerton had three players finish the game in double figures. Hosier led the team with 15, followed by Machalik’s 14 and Chase Reph with 10.

PALMERTON

Machalik 7-0-1-14, Sebelin 0-1-2-1, Robinson 0-4-4-4, Reph 3-3-4-10, Leister 0-0-0-0, Grammes 2-0-0-4, Hosier 4-7-8-15, Anthony 1-2-2-4. TOTALS: 17-17-21-52.

NORTHWESTERN

Fitch 2-2-2-6, Zimmerman 2-1-2-6, Wambold 1-0-0-3, Bollinger 4-0-0-9, Kozlowski 1-0-0-3, Nelson 0-0-0-0, Marth 5-0-1-10, Tyler 0-1-2-1, Fitzgerald 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 15-4-9-38.

Palmerton 13 14 7 18 - 52

N’western 14 2 6 16 - 38

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Reph 1; Northwestern - Bollinger 1, Kozlowski 1, Wambold 1, Zimmerman 1.