The little things.

Those will be the three words that will be ringing in the ears of Lehighton brothers Bayto and Bekim Cokrlija when they reflect on their performance at the District 11 Class 2A doubles finals at Lehigh University Thursday afternoon.

The Indians’ top-seeded duo dropped a 6-4, 6-7 (7-3), 6-2 decision to second-seeded Aveer Chanda and Harry Vicic of Moravian Academy. The Lions captured a doubles title for the third consecutive year.

In the semifinals, the Cokrlijas downed fifth-seeded Blue Mountain’s Evan Burcik and Dylan Knittle, 6-1, 7-5.

During that match, the brothers moved out to a fast start and never looked back.

“I think we did great in the semifinals,” said Bayto. “We were both feeling great and had a ton of confidence. We felt like nothing could stop us.”

Unfortunately, their luck changed.

Bayto was well aware of he and his brother’s faults that led to their downfall.

“Yes, it was the little things,” deadpanned the older Cokrlija, who advanced to the singles’ semifinals. “We were missing easy volleys, and hitting our returns into the net. We gave them a bunch of free points and the advantage.

“We played our best, but I think we had a lot of simple mistakes that we should have been able to correct during the game.”

His brother, Bekim, a junior, offered a similar viewpoint.

“We played good, but not great,” he said. “Our serves and volleys were amazing, but everything else was mediocre.

After they dropped the first set, the Cokrlijas were re-energized when they rallied to win a grueling second set.

At that point, they were confident to bring home the inaugural district doubles championship to Lehighton.

“We had a huge feeling of hope of winning districts for the first time in school history,” noted Bayto. “We felt great. We were yelling and just super excited. We knew we had a good chance to win the third set.”

Head coach Cody Schuler saw a swing in the brother’s physical and mental states after they defeated Blue Mountain.

“They played against two sophomores from Blue Mountain, and they were composed, played well and communicated effectively,” said Schuler.

“Against Moravian, they got frustrated, but they kept their cool. It was awesome for them to win the second set.

“They couldn’t keep it going from there. “It just wasn’t in the books for them.”

In the final set, both brothers had trouble keeping the momentum as Bekim felt his backhand and forehand, as well as the duo’s ground strokes, were ineffective.

“The last set of the day was nerve wracking,” said Bekim. “We were down early, and our confidence was done even more.”

His brother had a stronger evaluation.

“We won the second set, but it was short lived,” said Bayto. “We ended up losing the third set because our minds were lost. I was a little disappointed in ourselves for losing the match, but I am still proud of making it to the finals and having a chance to go to states.”

Overall, the Cokrlijas had a day of ebbs and flows on the court.

“Our vibes weren’t correlating and we were arguing with each other during the game,” said Bayto. “Sometimes we were moving and grooving, but sometimes we got into scoring slumps, which just brought our vibes down.

“I was able to get the bad vibes out of my head, but my brother was struggling to overcome those feelings. I was playing with more confidence and was more ecstatic than he was, which was a big reason on why our vibes weren’t correlating.”

Lehighton will begin team district play Monday against Central Catholic at Lehigh. It will be an opening-round rematch with ACC, which eliminated Lehighton last year.

The players are anxious to get back on the court.

“We’re looking forward to team districts, and hopefully, we can play well,” said Bayto.

“I think we played great at districts,” added Bekim. “We’re not mad on how we played, but we just need to work more.”

Schuler shared his players’ thoughts, and is looking for revenge Monday.

“I’m super proud of them,” he said. “I’m happy for Bayto to go out playing in a district final for himself and his brother. We’ll be ready for Monday.”

Lehighton athletic director Kyle Spotts credited the Cokrlijas’ work ethic to advance further in districts than any other doubles’ team in school history.

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment for them to get where they did,” said Spotts. “They have put in a lot of time, and I think it is really special to see the bond they have when competing together.”

And it was the positive little things that have brought them this far.