Senior night games are always special.

But when a seldom-used varsity player gets a chance to not only start for the first time in his career, but also makes a huge impact on the game, it can make for a memorable time for everyone in the gym.

Last week Northwestern senior Jonathan Maurer got his first start of the season. Just a minute and 15 seconds into the game, he drained the first three-pointer of his varsity career.

But unlike some senior nights, when the starters return shortly after the other seniors make their appearance, Maurer played much of the game. He nailed another three-pointer in the second quarter and the crowd erupted just as it had after his first one.

He made another in the third quarter to the same response. Then he lit up the room one more time when he made one late in the fourth quarter of the Tigers' 66-56 win over Catasauqua.

"It felt awesome, especially on senior night," said Maurer. "We're a bunch of seniors that worked real hard. We wanted to go out on a good note."

The rest of the team fed of the energy that Maurer's shots brought to the gym.

"I've never felt a game in here that felt like this," said three-year varsity player Josh Williamson.

"He's put in so much time," said Northwestern head coach Billy Hallman. "He comes to practice. He works hard. He really doesn't say much. But he's always there and the guys love him. It was great to see him hit those shots. That was huge."

The Tigers got contributions from nearly everyone on the roster in the win over Catty.

Four players hit three pointers in the first quarter, including Matt Archer, Parker Jones, Cam Richardson and Maurer, as the Tigers took an 18-8 lead.

Williamson assisted on three second-quarter baskets. Jones and Williamson hit back-to back three-pointers before Archer capped an 8-0 run that put Northwestern ahead 30-12 with 3:28 left in the first half.

As Catty tried to battle back in the third quarter, the Tigers got a pair of threes from Williamson and one from Maurer to build their lead back to 44-27 midway through the fourth.

The Rough Riders' Dakota Schiffer (game-high 21 points) helped his team cut that lead to 51-40 at the end of three quarters.

A Schiffer three-pointer with 5:37 left in the game cut the lead to 56-50, the Roughies smallest deficit since the first quarter. A pair of Isaiah Graves free throws made it 56-52 with just under five minute s to play.

The Tigers started a run when Archer took a charge to force a turnover. Brady Mengel hit a three-pointer at the other end before Archer made another big defensive play, stealing the ball and going the length of the court to push his team's lead back to 61-52.

It was the second time in the Tigers' final three games in which they closed out a contest that got close at the end.

It was Northwestern's ball movement that lead to the great shooting night.

"We talk a lot about team basketball and sometimes we get away from that," said Richardson. "We focused a lot on team basketball the last few games."

The game marked the end of the Tigers' best season since 2010, when they won seven league games.

Under first-year coach Hallman, Northwestern went 9-13 overall this season and 6-11 in the Colonial League. They came up two wins short of making the district playoffs, but they improved a great deal on last year's 2-win season.

"It stinks that we weren't able to make it quite where we wanted to be," said Williamson. "But I think coach Hallman has us on the right track up here and I'm excited to see what is going to happen for us in the future."

Richardson, another three-year varsity player, also strongly believes in the team's new mentor.

"We improved a lot," Richardson said. "We love our coach, coach Hallman. He's a great guy on and off the court. Him being that type of guy makes us want to play for him. We'd run through walls for him. I know he's going to build this program up."

Hallman came to the program after a few years at the helm of the Northwestern girls junior varsity program. He was familiar with the drought the boys team had been experiencing and is happy to try and turn things around, which he and his players surely started to do this season.

"We've definitely gotten better since day one," he said. "They've put in a lot of time. The last couple years weren't easy on them. I think the guys can leave the program with their head up. They got it turned around."

The Tigers graduate 10 seniors from this year's team. They are Archer, Williamson, Taylor Breininger, Frank Dangello, Logan Schwartz, Maurer, Kevin Shuey, Jordan Storm, Richardson and George Haddad.