Closers.

Jim Thorpe gave Northwestern Lehigh all it could handle on Monday night, but the Tigers showed why they’re one of the best teams in the Colonial League, digging in on the defensive end and making key free throws down the stretch. Northwestern’s clutch play in the fourth helped them to come away with a 46-40 victory over the Olympians.

“Every game we have from here on out is going to be a battle, and tonight was no different,” said Northwestern coach Pat Wanamaker. “Jim Thorpe is a good basketball team. (Pierce) Gothard had a big night for them again, and once he sees a few go in, he can score in bunches, and they have a good cast of athletes.

“We were able to make adjustments at the half and relied on our defense, and I was proud of the way our guys executed late in the game. I feel like we’re in a good spot with our late-game execution as we head into postseason play.”

Thorpe jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after an opening bucket from Ethan Moore, and a corner three from Gothard. Northwestern responded quickly to the JT start, going on a 9-0 run fueled by five points from Malachi Coleman, which gave the Tigers momentum.

Neither team could gain any type of separation throughout the first half. After the first ended in a 9-9 tie, both teams went into the half knotted at 19-19.

Thorpe’s 3-2 zone look kept the Northwestern offense at bay, while Thorpe continued to rely on Gothard for offense. The senior tallied 13 points in the first half for the Olympians.

After struggling from beyond the arc in the first half, Northwestern was able to finally break through from deep, hitting three triples in the third quarter. Brady Krimmel hit two treys, and Cannon Fitch added one to get the Tigers’ offense going.

Eight more points from Gothard in the frame helped Thorpe hold a 27-22 lead midway through the quarter, but the three-point makes from Northwestern helped it to go into the fourth with a 33-29 advantage.

“Credit to them. They’re a very good basketball team for a reason. They hit some big shots in the second half,” said Jim Thorpe coach Brian O’Donnell. “I thought we did a good job defensively tonight and rotated well for most of the game, but they hit the shots that they needed to when they were open.

“They also picked up the defensive tempo. Forced us into some tough shots that we took. I thought we should have been a little more patient at times, but their defense forces that kind of stuff. But our guys battled, and I’m proud of that. We have to bounce back quickly with a spot in the league playoffs on the line against Lehighton tomorrow. Our guys don’t need any added motivation against Lehighton; they always get up for that one, and we will be ready to go.”

Thorpe did its best to stay close to the Tigers, and it did for the first half of the fourth quarter trailing by just one (35-34) with 3:41 to play.

A big bucket from Mason Bollinger extended the Northwestern lead to three, before the Tigers man-to-man defense put the clamps on the Olympians’ offense the rest of the way.

Thorpe never got closer than four points from then on, and Northwestern shot lights out from the free-throw line over the final 1:20 to seal the win.

“We needed to get some stops. It was a tight game, and then we got a few stops and we were able to pull away little by little in the fourth quarter,” said Wanamaker.

“And that was really great to see us hit those pressure free throws at the end of the game. We haven’t been a great free-throw shooting team at times this season and we’ve been working on it a lot, so that was encouraging to see us hit those to help us get the win.”

LEADING SCORERS … Fitch led the Tigers with 11 points, while Coleman and Krimmel both added nine apiece. For Thorpe, Gothard scored a game-high 23.

CHARITY STRIPE … Northwestern shot an impressive 9-for-10 over the last 1:20 from the foul line to help ice the game.

JIM THORPE

P. Gothard 10-1-1-23, Lazorick 3-0-0-6, Schrantz 1-0-0-3, Moore 3-0-1-6, Antignani 0-0-0-0, Levins 0-1-4-1, Hodor 0-0-0-0, Kiehl 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 17 3-8 40.

NORTHWESTERN

Bollinger 3-1-5-7, Zimmerman 1-0-0-2, Fitch 3-4-4-11, Krimmel 2-3-4-9, Coleman 4-0-1-9, Lagowy 2-2-2-6, Wertman 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 16 10-16 46.

Jim Thorpe 9 10 10 11 - 40

Northwestern 9 10 14 13 - 46

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - P. Gothard 2, Schrantz 1 Northwestern - Krimmel 2, Coleman 1, Fitch 1.

Records: Jim Thorpe (10-11; 9-8); Northwestern (17-5; 16-2).