BENSALEM - In the midst of a 7-for-18 performance from the free-throw line in the first half Saturday night, Palmerton boys basketball coach Ken Termini turned to his staff and said, “we’re going to get through it.”

His team did just that, cutting a 15-point halftime deficit to three in the fourth quarter before ultimately dropping an 82-71 decision in its PIAA Class 3A first round game with Math, Civics, and Sciences Charter - the second seed out of District 12.

“The kids really battled back hard,” Termini said. “We got it down to a one-possession game after being down 15. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t fall the way in the first half for us that it did in the second half us. It would have been nice to string two halves together like that, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort or a lack of heart.”

After a 4-0 MCS start and losing guard Kendall Robinson to two quick fouls in the opening minutes, Palmerton - playing its first state tournament game since 2019 - stayed close for much of the first quarter.

The Bombers took an 11-10 lead before an 8-0 MCS run, featuring a dunk from Aiden Brown, capped the opening stanza.

MCS built its 42-27 halftime lead on a strong 18-for-25 shooting performance. Senior guard Nayeem Johnson scored 17 of his team-high 27 points for the Elephants in the first half.

Palmerton, meanwhile, shot 9-for-23 in the opening two quarters, including 2-for-7 from beyond the arc.

“Teams look better when the ball goes through the rim,” Termini said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t happening for us early and credit to MCS for speeding us up a little bit.”

After a lengthy halftime chat, which saw both teams stay in the locker room until a little over two minutes before the ball was put back in play, Palmerton began slowly chipping at the lead, getting it to single digits after a Matt Machalik basket with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter.

“We were in there a long time,” Termini said of his halftime talk. “The message was we need to get the ball over half court, spread the court and play with poise. In the second half, we played with much more poise.”

Four consecutive threes, two by Chase Reph and one each from Brayden Hosier and Machalik, trimmed the MCS cushion to five.

A Hosier layup made it a one possession game at 58-55 before a Chauncey Presley layup right at the third quarter horn extended the lead back to five.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t get one more bucket to tie it up because I think a lot of pressure would have shifted onto them,” Termini said.

The Elephants built an eight-point lead in the final frame but the Bombers again fought back, slicing that to four on a pair of Hosier foul shots with 2:21 on the clock.

A 7-0 run helped MCS put the game away late.

Palmerton finished 26-of-50 from the field, while the Elephants shot 32-for-49.

The Bombers end the year 20-8, while MCS advances to play Trinity - the top seed out of District 3 - on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.

“I think the kids made Palmerton proud tonight with the way they battled,” Termini said. “Our seniors won 51 games over the last three years, with one of those seasons being just 15 games long. What I just was part of in that locker room is five seniors pouring their heart out and sharing how much this experience meant to them and how much they love each other. They now become part of that group who came before us who we play for each and every night.”

TALE OF TWO HALVES ... After shooting 2-of-7 on three-point attempts in the first half, MCS did not attempt a triple in the final two quarters. Palmerton, meanwhile, turned its long-distance shooting around, hitting just 2-of-7 attempts in the first half before a 4-for-7 performance in quarters three and four.

BALANCED ATTACK ... Machalik, who scored his 1,000th-career point in the District 11 playoffs, poured in a team-high 27 points for the Bombers, while classmate Hosier added 17. Seniors Reph and Robinson also hit double-digits scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Johnson scored 27 to lead the Elephants, followed by Presley with 19 and Griffin adding 14.

STATE TOURNEY RECORD ... The loss drops Palmerton to 8-13 all-time in the PIAA state tournament.

PALMERTON

Machalik 10-4-10-27, Sebelin 0-1-2-1, Robinson 5-0-0-10, Reph 5-0-2-12, Leister 0-0-0-0, Grammes 2-0-2-4, Hosier 4-8-10-17, Stahler 0-0-0-0, Z. Anthony 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-13-26-71.

MATH, CIVICS, SCIENCES

Johnson 10-6-8-27, Lee 0-1-2-1, Gilyard 0-0-0-0, Presley 7-4-4-19, Dawson 1-1-2-3, King 2-2-2-6, Sesay 2-0-2-4, Griffin 6-2-2-14, Brown 4-0-1-8.. TOTALS: 32-16-23-82.

Palmerton 11 16 28 16 - 71

MC&S 18 24 18 22 - 82

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Machalik 3, Reph 2, Hosier 1; Math, Civics & Sciences - Johnson 1, Presley 1.