Trailing by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, it looked like Northwestern Lehigh was headed for a one-and-done performance in the Colonial League playoffs.

But as they have many times throughout the season, the Tigers scratched and clawed their way back, putting together a massive run in the fourth quarter to get the comeback victory, defeating Bangor 54-49 on Saturday.

It was the first Colonial League playoff win for Northwestern since the 2007 season.

“We really dug in and buckled down to close the third quarter and in the fourth quarter. It was just a really gritty effort by our guys tonight. They have all been working really hard,” said Northwestern head coach Pat Wanamaker.

“I’m just so proud of these guys. They have grown so much this season, and you could see that in the fourth quarter. We took care of the ball, took good shots and then got some big stops on the defensive end down the stretch.”

The first half was a battle, with Bangor holding a 26-21 advantage at the intermission. The talented backcourt of Hunter McShane (nine points) and Exavior Prado (six points) combined for 15 points. McShane came into the game with 37 three-pointers and continued to stay hot, hitting three in the first half.

Sophomore Mason Bollinger led the Tigers with 13 points in the first half, scoring nine in the first.

To start the third, the Slaters went on their big run. An 11-4 surge would give Bangor a 37-25 lead around the 3:40 mark of the period. A couple of big buckets from Jeremiah Singer helped the Slaters gain the double-digit edge.

But just as Bangor thought it was in control, Northwestern made its move, closing the quarter on a 10-4 run, which was capped off by a Josh Wambold score plus the harm to make it just a six-point deficit for the Tigers heading into the fourth.

“At the half, we kind of looked back at the first half and we liked the shots we were getting, they just weren’t going down for us,” said Wanamaker. “So, the goal coming out was to really pick up our defensive intensity. We weren’t able to do that right away, but then down the stretch we really picked it up.

“The goal when we got down 12, was to get it down to single digits going into the fourth. We knew they were going to continue to be patient on offense, which they did a good job of that all night, so cutting their lead to six was huge for us.”

Enter Northwestern junior guard Gavin Nelson. Nelson, who came into the game leading the Tigers in scoring at 15.9 points per night, matched that scoring total in the second half with 16. In the fourth, Nelson led the way for Northwestern, scoring an impressive 12 points, none bigger than his own personal 6-0 run around the 6:20 mark of the frame. Nelson’s triple followed by a three-point play tied the game at 43-43.

The two squads continued to go back and forth. A Prado deuce gave Bangor the lead, followed by a Nelson bucket to knot the game once again. A Singer two put the Slaters back in front, but then a Nelson three with just under three minutes left to play gave Northwestern the lead for good (48-47).

Two big finishes by Shane Marth down the stretch, paired with fantastic Tigers’ defense helped them close out the win.

“We’re really excited to get this win. We were all trying so hard to get back into the game. This is just such a big win,” said Nelson.

“I think we showed tonight that we are a really good team. That we can hang in there when we’re down. We’re never going to give up. We’re going to continue to pressure and fight.”

NEXT UP

… Northwestern, which is the No. 4 seed, will now move on to face the No. 1 seed Notre Dame Green Pond in the Colonial League semis at Catasauqua High School at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Tigers improved to 16-7 on the season.

LEADERS

… Nelson scored a team-high 18 points for Northwestern. Bollinger scored 13 and grabbed eight boards, and Marth added 11. For Bangor, McShane scored a game-high 21.

BANGOR

Prado 4 0-0 8, McShane 7 3-3 21, Bucher 3 3-4 9, Farensbach 0 0-0 0, Singer 3 0-0 7, Gray 2 0-0 4, Cruciani 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 6-7 49.

NORTHWESTERN

Bollinger 6 0-0 13, E. Zimmerman 3 1-2 8, Kozlowski 0 0-0 0, Nelson 7 2-3 18, Marth 5 1-3 11, Wambold 1 2-3 4, Tyler 0 0-0 0, Krimmel 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22 6-11 54.

Bangor 17 9 15 8 - 49

N’western 16 5 14 19 - 54

Three-pointers: Bangor - McShane 4, Singer 1; Northwestern - Nelson 2, Bollinger 1, Zimmerman 1.