Bombers fall to New Hope-Solebury

QUAKERTOWN – New Hope-Solebury head coach Rick Fedele didn’t know much about Palmerton’s boys basketball team heading into the District 1/11 Class 3A subregional final.

But he knew enough to employ just the right game plan for his team.

The Lions led from start to finish in a 61-46 victory Saturday at Quakertown High School.

“We just didn’t play well enough,” said Blue Bomber head coach Ken Termini. “Part of that is what we did and a good part of that is what New Hope did. They took it to us. They moved the ball well. They didn’t turn it over much and they found the open guy.”

The No. 3 seed Lions (15-10) also employed a pressure defense that made things difficult for Bomber shooters. Palmerton made just three of its 12 first-quarter shot attempts and fell behind 19-10 after eight minutes. New Hope found its way to the basket and made seven of its 10 first-quarter shots.

“I was only able to get one game film on them,” said Fedele. “We get out and pressure guys a little more on the perimeter. In the Lehigh Valley, the way basketball seems to be played when I watch film is a lot of guys get those open looks on the perimeter.

“I told these guys to take the same approach we took with Panther Valley on Wednesday, get out and pressure the ball on the three-point shot. Make them put the ball on the floor. We were able to close out and make them put the ball on the floor and it was a little more difficult.”

Things were just as difficult inside for No. 4 seed Palmerton (12-12).

The Lions’ 6-foot-8 center Topher Taylor blocked two shots early in the game and affected many others. The senior scored a game-high 21 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, blocked four shots and dished out three assists in the win. He piled up those numbers despite missing over five minutes of the second quarter after picking up his second foul.

“He’s just another guy,” said Termini. “He’s big. He’s strong. We played Jim Thorpe, who had a kid just as big. We’ve scrimmaged teams who have kids just as big. He made the shots he had to make.”

New Hope was ahead 24-12 when Taylor left the game. But the Bombers couldn’t take advantage as the Lions were still ahead 25-18 at halftime.

“With him getting in foul trouble as early as he did I was concerned, but the kids did a great job,” said Fedele. “The big thing for us is slowing the tempo of the game down so we can use our offense more as our defense. The kids did a good job of that.”

Palmerton tried to get back in the game. Nate Dougherty scored off a turnover early in the second half to cut the lead to six points. Tyler Christman’s basket with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter cut the Lions’ lead to 28-24. But Taylor scored three times in a row to build his team’s lead back to 34-24. He had 10 points in the quarter and got his team’s lead up to 40-28 heading into the fourth.

“I told the kids they did a good job of battling back,” said Termini. “The game came down to the fact that their guards didn’t make mistakes and we weren’t shooting the ball well tonight.”

The Bombers kept fighting in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get New Hope’s lead under 10 points.

“No one on my team quit,” said Termini. “We just didn’t play well enough. “I don’t think it was an effort thing at all. I think both teams played hard. It’s just that one team executed better.”

STATE PLAYOFF BOUND ... Both teams move on to the state playoffs. Palmerton will face District 4 champ Loyalsock Saturday. New Hope takes on the fifth-place team from District 12.

HIGH SCORERS ... Hosier led the Bombers with 18 points, while Dougherty added 14. New Hope got 13 points from Connor Wallace and 12 for Pat Cooney.

PALMERTON

Christman 1-0-1-2, Kratzer 3-2-3-8, Young 0-0-0-0, King 0-0-0-0, Dougherty 5-3-5-14, Delgado 0-0-0-0, Mooney 0-0-0-0, Kresge 0-0-0-0, Stuck 0-0-0-0, Hosier 4-8-8-18, Buck 1-0-0-2, Silfies 1-0-0-2, Nothsteim 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-13-17-46.

NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY

Cooney 4-4-4-12, McGlaughlin 1-0-0-2, Weinseimer 4-1-2-9, Waterman 0-1-2-1, Walinski 0-1-2-1, Wallace 4-4-7-13, Keating 0-0-0-0, Taylor 8-5-9-21, Dougherty 0-0-0-0, Les 1-0-0-2, Sullivan 0-0-0-0, Albano 0-0-0-0, Kolen 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-16-26- 61.

Palmerton 10 8 10 18 - 46

New Hope 19 6 15 21 - 61

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Hosier 2, Dougherty 1; New Nope - Wallace 1.