From start to finish.

Palmerton controlled its Colonial League quarterfinal matchup from the opening tip on Saturday, defeating Bangor 64-42.

The Blue Bombers did not finish the regular season how they wanted, losing three of their final five games, including a four-point loss to the Slaters just two weeks ago.

But the postseason offered Palmerton a clean slate, and from the opening whistle the Bombers got it going - using a 12-0 run to start the game.

The Palmerton defense was also determined, as Bangor didn’t score its first point until the 1:37 mark of the first. The result was a 14-2 Bomber lead heading into the second stanza.

“I think the guys came out and set the tone defensively from the start today,” said Palmerton head coach Ken Termini. “Our kids just executed our game plan to perfection in both offense and defense today.

“There were some things in that loss to Bangor a few weeks ago that we did not do well, and it cost us the game, but today we came out determined, and we made corrections.”

Palmerton’s prime defensive effort continued into the second quarter as it forced six Slater turnovers. Bangor would score back-to-back buckets to start the second to cut the deficit to eight (14-6), but the Bombers would finish the quarter on an 11-2 run to lead 25-8 at the half. Junior Matt Machalik led the Bombers with 12 points in the first half.

Palmerton - which was struggling offensively in recent first halves of play during the end of the regular season - got off to a much-needed hot start against Bangor.

“We never lost our confidence,” said Termini. “I believe in these guys, and they believe in each other.

“Listen, we had a week, or a little over a week where the ball just didn’t want to go into the rim for us. That was tough, but you have to endure that. I think you saw the guys come out today, and they put that behind them and now we are in a spot where we wanted to be, which was to advance to the league semifinals.”

The Slaters did not go away, but the Bombers would not let them get within single digits throughout the second half.

Ashton Kluska’s 11 points in the third would give Bangor some life offensively, but Palmerton was able to answer every Slater run with one of its own to carry a 36-22 advantage into the fourth.

Palmerton (19-5) would finish as strong as it started, scoring 28 points in the final quarter to finish off the Slaters for the 22-point victory.

Machalik, Brayden Hosier, Chase Reph and Jacob Grammes each scored six points in the fourth to put Bangor away.

“I think today was just the appropriate balance of being both patient offensively, and also being aggressive when the defense gave us the looks that we wanted,” said Termini. “We did a good job of driving to the basket and finding the open man. I’m proud of the effort today, and we’re excited for the opportunities in front of us.”

LEADERS … Machalik led all scorers with 22 points for Palmerton. He needs 18 more to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Hosier added 14, and Reph and Kendall Robinson both contributed 10 points for the Bombers. Kluska scored 14 for Bangor.

NEXT UP … Palmerton will take on No. 1 seed Notre Dame in the CL semifinals Wednesday at 7:35 p.m.

BANGOR

McShane 0-2-2-2, Kluska 4-4-4-14, Marmol 3-2-4-8, Giaquinto 4-2-3-10, Castelletti 0-0-0-0, Singer 0-2-3-2, Prado 0-0-0-0, Karner 2-0-0-4, Quagliato 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 14-12-16-42.

PALMERTON

Machalik 9-3-7-22, Sebelin 0-0-2-0, Robinson 5-0-1-10, Reph 5-0-0-10, Rumfield 0-0-0-0, Leister 0-0-0-0, Grammes 4-0-2-8, Hosier 3-7-9-14, Stahler 0-0-0-0, Z. Anthony 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-10-21-64.

Bangor 2 6 14 20 - 42

Palmerton 14 11 11 28 - 64

Three-pointers: Bangor - Kluska 2; Palmerton - Machalik 1, Hosier 1.