Wednesday night at Northwestern Lehigh High School, the basketball court was no place for anyone slow of foot.

Northern Lehigh came in to face the Tigers, and the two rivals turned the game into a track meet for long stretches.

The Bulldogs erased an early deficit and briefly grabbed the lead, but Northwestern eventually pulled away to hand Northern Lehigh a 60-45 loss.

The up-tempo style suited the Tigers perfectly. Northwestern raced out to a dominant first quarter, sparked by a 16-2 run. Mason Bollinger scored six points during the surge, and Malachi Coleman delivered a statement block at the rim that set the tone.

“We like to play that type of game and push the ball up the court, especially when we’re getting rebounds,” Bollinger said. “If they make a shot, we just look to push the tempo and get fast breaks and easy buckets down low.”

Trailing by 11 after one quarter, Northern Lehigh slowed the pace, and the adjustment paid dividends. A 3-pointer from Michael Bauer, and a pair of baskets from 1,000-point scorer Kellen Bauer trimmed the deficit to 16-12 with 6:04 left in the first half.

Kellen Bauer followed with a driving layup and a free throw to complete a three-point play. His younger brother, Michael, added two more buckets — one on a slick spin move — as the Bulldogs erased 11 of the Tigers’ 12-point lead.

Northwestern struggled to contain Kellen Bauer, who scored four more points in the final 28 seconds of the half to give Northern Lehigh a 23-22 lead, its first since the opening minute. Bauer poured in 11 points in the second quarter and finished with a game-high 29, while Michael Bauer scored seven of his 13 points in the period. Together, the brothers accounted for all of Northern Lehigh’s first-half scoring.

The Tigers reclaimed the lead just before halftime when Brady Krimmel converted a layup to make it 24-23.

“Defensively, I thought we were really, really good tonight, at least outside of that second quarter,” Northwestern coach Pat Wanamaker said. “We got a little too aggressive out front and gave up too many straight-line drives, and they have kids who can score.”

Kellen Bauer opened the second half with a jumper to put Northern Lehigh back in front, 25-24, but that proved to be the Bulldogs’ last lead. Senior Cannon Fitch answered with a deep 3-pointer, igniting a 13-3 Northwestern run that spanned much of the third quarter.

Fitch scored five points during the surge, and capped the quarter with another 3 to push the Tigers’ lead to 44-33 entering the final period.

“I liked the way we moved the ball tonight,” Bollinger said. “We have a lot of guys who aren’t selfish. We like to look for each other and make plays — that’s what team basketball is all about.”

Three-pointers from Krimmel and Michael Lagowy extended Northwestern’s lead to 54-36, its largest of the night. Kellen Bauer scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers’ defense clamped down elsewhere, holding Michael Bauer scoreless over the final 10 minutes.

“We work on defense every day,” Fitch said. “The coaches teach us how to protect the middle and always play hard. We still have things to improve, but we’re playing well right now.”

Bollinger led Northwestern with 18 points, while Coleman and Fitch added 12 apiece, and Krimmel finished with 11.

SAME TEAMS, DIFFERENT DAYS … The rivals share identical schedules to close the regular season, with games remaining against Lehighton (10-8 overall, 9-1 Colonial), Jim Thorpe (8-10, 7-7) and Palmerton (2-16, 2-13). Northwestern has clinched playoff spots in both the league and District 11, but remains in contention for top positioning. The Tigers trail Notre Dame-Green Pond by one game in the Colonial League standings, and sit behind Salisbury in the district rankings. Northern Lehigh has been eliminated from postseason contention in both the league and district races.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

LoPinto 0-0-0-0, Daubert 0-0-0-0, K. Bauer 12-4-5-29, Karetsky 1-0-0-3, M. Bauer 5-2-3-13, Schaffer 0-0-0-0, Fox 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-6-8-45.

NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH

Bollinger 8-2-2-18, Zimmerman 2-0-0-4, Fitch 4-2-2-12, Krimmel 4-2-2-11, Coleman 6-0-0-12, Lagowy 1-0-0-3, Wertman 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-6-6-60.

Northern Lehigh 5 18 10 12 - 45

Northwestern 16 8 20 16 - 60

Three-pointers: NL – K. Bauer, M. Bauer, Karetsky; NWL – Fitch 2, Krimmel, Lagowy.

Records: (NL 6-13, 5-10); NWL (14-5, 13-2)