WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP - The clutch gene.

Either you have it or you don’t.

The ability to make plays at the end of a game with the pressure on can be the ultimate difference maker for a team.

Palmerton guard Matt Machalik and his Bombers’ teammates showcased that exact DNA in the Colonial League semifinals on Wednesday, hitting critical free throws and getting key defensive stops down the stretch to defeat Saucon Valley 45-44.

“It was a great finish. Obviously Matt Machalik is a great player and an even better athlete. But something we have spent a lot of time on all season long is making pressure free throws, and that paid off for us tonight,” said Palmerton head coach Joe Egan. “It’s great to see the stuff that we work on in practice translate over to the games.”

With Palmerton possessing the ball and trailing by one (44-43) with 15 seconds left - after two missed free throws by the Panthers - Machalik was able to draw a foul driving down the left side of the lane with four seconds remaining. With the pressure on, Machalik knocked down both foul shots to put Palmerton up one.

Saucon Valley’s long inbound pass was then stolen at midcourt, giving the Bombers the big win.

“That was a gritty win. I think we showed some toughness tonight. I’m just so proud of my teammates. We made a lot of big plays at the end of that game,” said Machalik. “I just told myself at the end of the game there at the foul line that I needed to make these shots. That we were not going to lose this game.

“I felt the pressure, believe me, but I was able to hit them. What a great game.”

Palnerton got key performances from several players as it battled back-and-forth with Saucon during the first three quarters. Jacob Grammes scored five points in the third quarter, including a big triple midway through the period that put Palmerton back up after SV had taken the lead. The Bombers also got some big buckets from Aiden Leister and Zach Anthony earlier in the contest, allowing them to carry a 35-33 lead into the fourth.

“It was great to see a bunch of our guys step and make some big plays for us tonight. They came in and they were really focused on Brayden Hosier and face-guarding him all night,” said Egan. “Hosier puts so much pressure on your defense, so that then took some pressure off some other guys, and they were able to get free. We also did a nice job setting ball screens for Machalik, and they couldn’t hedge our screens because of that.”

Leister started off the fourth quarter with a deuce to extend the Bombers lead to four (37-33), but then Saucon Valley’s Jack Robertson scored eight straight points to swing the lead back to the Panthers, 41-37.

Machalik just kept coming, however, as his put-back made it a two-point game. After a Saucon free throw, Machalik hit a pull-up jumper to cut the Panthers’ lead to one. Saucon Valley answered with a Caleb Grim basket to make it 44-41. But Machalik responded again, hitting a jumper from just inside the three-point line with 40 seconds remaining.

The Bombers were then forced to foul, but the Panthers missed two free throws, setting the stage for Machalik’s late heroics.

“This is a resilient group. We played our summer league here in this gym and were down 18 points with eight minutes to go in one of our games here and we were able to come back,” said Egan. “This group is capable of anything. We’re excited for Friday to go out there and compete for a championship.”

SCORING LEADERS … Machalik scored a game-high 27 points for the Bombers. For Saucon Valley, Clark led the way with 15 points and Robertson added 14.

UP NEXT … The No. 2 seeded Bombers improve to 15-8, and will take on No. 1 seed Notre Dame Green Pond in the Colonial League championship to be played Friday night at 7:45 p.m. at Freedom High School.

HISTORY … Palmerton qualified for its first-ever Colonial League final with its win on Wednesday night. The Bombers last league title was in 1989 in the Centennial League.

SAUCON VALLEY

Miller 0-0-0-0, Weiss 1-1-2-4, Donahue 3-1-2-7, Robertson 6-2-3-14, Krescholleck 0-0-0-0, Clark 6-3-6-15, Grim 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 18-8-15-44.

PALMERTON

Serfass 0-0-0-0, Machalik 10-7-9-27, Grammes 3-0-0-8, Leister 3-0-0-6, Hosier 1-0-0-2, Z. Anthony 1-0-0-2, L. Anthony 0-0-0-0, Stahler 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-7-9-45.

Saucon Vy. 10 10 13 11 - 44

Palmerton 12 9 14 10 - 45

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Grammes 2.