Spectators watching the Pleasant Valley boys basketball team’s performance Tuesday night probably would never think the Bears entered the game with just one win on the season.

Never trailing from the opening tip, Pleasant Valley put together a solid offensive and defensive effort to defeat Northern Lehigh, 58-42, in the Slatington Rotary Tournament consolation game.

The Bears set the tone early with two straight three-pointers from senior Jake Loch. After a driving layup and jumper from Northern Lehigh’s Michael Bauer, Pleasant Valley scored the next eight points on baskets by Ajani Wheeler, Jaxson Haines and a 3-pointer from Marcelus Solt. Solt’s driving layup with 22 seconds left in the first period gave the Bears an 11-point advantage.

Northern Lehigh committed six turnovers in the opening period, which didn’t help its efforts to cut into the deficit. Baskets by Sebastian Sacci increased Pleasant Valley’s lead to 13 at 26-13 midway through the second quarter. Sacci scored all eight of his team’s points in the period.

The Bulldogs, however, managed to connect on four of their nine shots in the quarter, getting two baskets from Michael Bauer and one each from Chayce LoPinto and Colin Karetsky.

At halftime, with his team trailing 30-19, Northern Lehigh coach Jake Waylen emphasized the need to limit Pleasant Valley’s second-chance opportunities.

“We saw that they had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half,” Waylen said. “We told our team they had to go out in the second half and win the battle of the boards and secure the rebounds.”

Waylen’s team responded, limiting Pleasant Valley to just one offensive rebound over the final 16 minutes. LoPinto led the charge, pulling down 14 rebounds in the second half on both ends of the floor.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that improvement didn’t translate to the scoreboard.

A 7-0 run to open the third quarter lifted Pleasant Valley to a 37-19 lead, and the Bears were able to maintain control the rest of the way. Pleasant Valley coach Joe Berezwick was pleased with his team’s overall execution.

“I thought we did a great job swinging the ball around and through their 2-3 zone,” Berezwick said. “We showed great patience, too, with five or six passes before we found an open shooter. We set the tempo early and we kept the energy throughout the game.”

Northern Lehigh got as close as 12 points when Michael Bauer scored with 6:50 remaining, but Pleasant Valley responded by outscoring the tournament host 12-8 the rest of the way to secure the win.

“We haven’t been able to sustain our effort for a full four periods,” Waylen said. “When we got down early, give Pleasant Valley credit for not allowing us back in the game. Regardless of their record, they’re an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference 6A team and they play a tough schedule. They kept us out of our rhythm, and their man defense broke our sets.

“We also have to be careful we don’t get in foul trouble, because we lack depth when we play only six players in competitive games,” he added. “We’re a better team than we showed, but we need to play consistently for four full periods.”

Berezwick also praised Pleasant Valley’s defensive effort.

“Jake Loch did a great job defending Kellen Bauer, and we took several charges when they drove to the basket,” Berezwick said.

The Bears’ coach sees light at the end of the tunnel after a challenging start.

“Despite losing our first seven games, which were very competitive, we’re going through a learning process and getting better,” Berezwick said.

Sebastian Sacci led all scorers with 20 points for Pleasant Valley, while Loch added 17. Kellen Bauer paced Northern Lehigh with 15 points, and Michael Bauer followed with 14.

LUCKY NUMBER 24 ... Wearing that number, Northern Lehigh’s Michael Bauer and Pleasant Valley’s Sacci combined for 36 of the game’s 100 points.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL ... After committing six turnovers in the opening period, Northern Lehigh had just one the rest of the game.

HOW THEY GOT HERE ... In the opening round of the tournament, Pleasant Valley fell to Catasauqua, 73-50. Northern Lehigh was defeated by Bethlehem Christian, 88-68.

PLEASANT VALLEY

Loch 5-4-4-17, Haines 2-0-0-4, Dorshimer 0-0-0-0, Solt 4-0-0-10, Wheeler 3-1-1-7, Sacci 9-2-8-20, Gearhart 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-7-13-58.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

LoPinto 3-0-0-8, Daubert 0-0-0-0, K. Bauer 5-5-8-15, Karetsky 1-0-0-2, Schaffer 1-0-0-3, M. Bauer 7-0-0-14. TOTALS: 17-5-8-42.

Pleasant Valley 22 8 16 12 - 58

Northern Lehigh 11 8 7 16 - 42

Three-pointers: PV- Loch 3, Solt 2; NL - LoPinto 2, Schaffer 1.

Records: Pleasant Valley (2-9); Northern Lehigh (4-8).