Bombers can't bottle up Binder
It had been a long time since the Tigers won a game in dominating fashion.
Their 68-35 win over Palmerton on Tuesday marked their largest margin of victory since last year's season-opening 56-23 win over Kutztown.
"We've never really had an experience like this before," said Northwestern senior Jarred Binder of his team's 3-3 start to the season.
"It's a big win for us. Our confidence is high. I think we can really feed off of this for the next game."
The Tigers, which went 2-20 last year, have already eclipsed that win total as they've won three of their last four games.
"It was great to get a win like that for the program, but we have a quick turnaround," said Eddinger. "I talked them about enjoying tonight and coming in tomorrow to work. Then let's go to Bangor Thursday and find out what we're made of.
"It feels good to surpass last year's win total. I feel good for the boys. But we have a long way to go."
In Tuesday's win, Palmerton hung around early before Northwestern opened a second-quarter lead and stretched it in the third.
Three times in a less-than three-minute span in the first quarter, Binder went up for a lay up, made it and drew the foul. The Northwestern center didn't convert on any of the three-point play attempts, but he made his presence felt early in the game.
The 6-foot-6 senior went on to a career-high 23-point night.
"It was a good game," said Binder. "My teammates were looking inside and we took advantage of my size in the post. I felt like I couldn't be stopped. But I've got to work on my free throws."
Binder's big night and a strong defensive helped the Tigers (3-3 overall, 2-1 Colonial League) to their largest margin of victory in a league game since beating the Bombers 72-38 on Jan. 29, 2008.
Northwestern held visiting Palmerton (0-4, 0-3) without a field goal for the final 2:23 of the first quarter through the first 3:08 of the second. It resulted in a 14-2 run by the Tigers that gave them a 25-11 lead.
The Bombers' Nick Frey hit a three-pointer to stop the run, but the Tigers turned up the defense again, forcing five turnovers in three minutes to spark a 7-0 run.
When Binder went to the line for his fourth attempt at a three-point play with 1:53 left in the first half, he made and gave his team a 34-14 lead. He finished the first half with 18 points and shot 9-for-11 in the game.
The Bombers, which were in foul trouble early in the game, didn't have an answer for Binder.
"Our bench isn't very deep," said Palmerton assistant coach Frank McCarroll. "[Binder is] a heck of a ball player. We tried to front him. It just didn't happen. We're very young. We're going through going pains right now."
Northwestern forced 12 turnovers in the first half and held Palmerton to three field goals through the second and third quarters.
"Defense was the key," said Tiger head coach Dan Eddinger. "I was talking to them about that all year, getting in the passing lanes and making other teams feel uncomfortable. Teams don't have a problem doing that to us."
Cam Richardson chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals for Northwestern.
McCarroll manned the Palmerton bench in place of Bomber head coach Mick Stefanick, but he did not know why Stefanick was not at the game.
"I was taken by surprise," McCarroll said. "I was told to coach. I have no idea. I don't know if it's just for tonight. I don't know."