A power surge can wreak havoc up and down the circuitry of a home and cause serious damage.

The same thing can happen when a power surge hits the basketball court - and no area player created more of those power surges this past season than Palmerton’s Matt Machalik.

Machalik’s powerful drives to the basket, and his blazing burst up the court ignited the Bombers to a 15-win season.

For his accomplishments on the hardwood, Matt Machalik was selected the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Basketball Player of the Year - the second time in the last three seasons he received the award.

From super stardom on the gridiron to a scoring machine on the hardwood, Machalik brought a football mentality to the game of hoops. Basketball was a contact sport for Machalik, who is also a two-time Times News Football Player of the Year. His MO was the same in both sports - give him the ball and let him charge through the defense.

“I like to play physical, and with a high motor,” Machalik said. “I’m always in attack mode. I play hard, and feel like nobody can stop me.

“It’s the style that works best for me. I actually think I took more hits on the basketball court than I did on the football field this past season.”

The evidence supports his opinion. During this season, he drew an average of seven shooting fouls per game, mostly because his primary goal was to get as close to the basket as he could and take high percentage shots.

Of Machalik’s 552 points this season, 21% were tallied from the charity stripe. A majority of his points from the field came on layups - and while a number were on high contact power moves to the basket, quite a few came without much pressure.

“The defense we played allowed for me to make a lot of steals and score a lot of points off the fast break on uncontested layups,” explained Machalik.

Palmerton coach Joe Egan described Machalik as the most athletic basketball player he’s ever seen at the high school level.

“He was a dominant player, and he was physically able to do pretty much whatever he wanted to do,” said Egan.

Just how good was he this year?

Machalik scored in double figures in all but two of the Bombers’ 25 games, averaging 22.1 points per contest. The highlight of his season as far as individual scoring was concerned came on Jan. 15 against Palisades when he threw down a career-high 45 points.

“It seemed like every shot I took found the bottom of the net that night,” said Machalik. “My teammates saw the zone I was in and kept getting me the ball.”

Bound for Lehigh University to play football next year, Machalik finished his basketball career with 1,601 points.

While there were plenty of highlights during his career, the Palmerton star said his most memorable game was this year’s Colonial League semifinal playoff game against Saucon Valley.

The Bombers’ 45-44 victory over the Panthers came in large part thanks to Machalik. With Palmerton down by three points and just 50 seconds remaining, Machalik got the ball and hit on a jumper to cut Saucon’s lead to a point. After the Panthers missed two free throws, Palmerton again put the ball into the hands of their 6-1 standout and (WHO) drove across the paint and was fouled with three seconds left.

“The gym was rocking, but I was able to lock out the noise and calm myself with a deep breath,” said Machalik recalling the moment. “I wanted to be the guy with the ball in my hand.”

Machalik’s first free throw found nothing but net, and the second rolled around the rim and fell through for a one-point Bombers’ victory.

“We practice shooting pressure free throws as much as we can in the gym,” said Egan. “Matt feels he can be at his best with the game on the line and the ball in his hands, and he has the incredible ability to do just that.”

He finished that game with 27 points on 10 field goals and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line.

Machalik’s skills on the court are matched only by his leadership qualities.

“He sets the tone by giving everything he’s got whether it be in practice or in a game,” said Egan. “Matt’s not a rah-rah guy. He leads by example, and his teammates take notice and that gets them to step up their game.”

When told he had once again won a TN/LVHN Player of the Year Award, Machalik said, “It’s just great to hear it. I had to work hard to earn all my awards, and I give my teammates all the credit for helping me make it happen.”

Egan said that Machalik - along with his senior teammates - will be remembered as huge difference makers for the Blue Bomber basketball program.

“Palmerton had not been known as a top basketball program until Matt and the rest of our seniors turned the fortunes around the past few seasons,” said Egan.

Although Machalik may have played his final basketball game for Palmerton, he leaves fans with memorable images of sparks flying from the heels of his sneakers as he surged to the basket for a powerful finish.

Those power surges came often during the past four seasons and will be remembered, but also sorely missed by the Bomber faithful.