Sometimes, the impromptu can be a benefit.

Such was a recent case for the Catasauqua boys’ basketball team.

The Roughies traveled to Palmerton last Saturday to face a Blue Bomber team that had a 9-5 record and was coming off a hard-fought, 75-69, double-overtime loss to Notre Dame.

Without a practice the previous day due the snowstorm that affected the entire Lehigh Valley, Rough Riders’ head coach Eric Snyder didn’t have a good feeling about making the northwest trip.

Yet, the Roughies found a way.

Catty battled Palmerton to the wire, and the Roughies prevailed with a 56-54 victory. It was their second consecutive, tight-knit victory, as the Roughies edged Pen Argyl, 44-42 two days earlier.

Catty earlier dropped a 59-49 decision to Palmerton on Dec. 20.

After trailing 27-20 at halftime, the Roughies responded by outscoring the Blue Bombers, 24-10 in the third quarter to take the lead.

“It was our defense,” said Snyder. “We were aggressive, intense, and we were able to push the ball up the floor. The kids really played well. You could see that they have been playing with more confidence and moving the ball around more.

“They (Palmerton) had a shot at the end with 1.4 seconds to go, and they threw up a three that was short. But we managed to play tight throughout the game.”

Against Palmerton, Snyder credited the play of sophomore Caden Weaver, who entered the game after post players Matt Fotta and Jeremiah Cofie got in foul trouble. He also credited leading scorer Frankie Pujols and also Reece Lopez.

“Caden did a nice job,” noted Snyder. “He stepped in both of them and rally picked up his play. He even took a charge (charging foul), and that was big for us.”

Snyder called this week schedule an “NBA” one, as the Roughies have Southern Lehigh, Salisbury, Northern Lehigh, and Kutztown. Only Salisbury (10-7) has a winning record. The Roughies were defeated by Salisbury in the season opener (51-49) in overtime, and they defeated both Southern Lehigh and Northern Lehigh earlier.

The Roughies have rebounded well after a 1-7 start. Now, Snyder and his troops have their eye on a district date with four winnable games this week and four more down the stretch. Catty is eighth in the Class 3 A district, which will take the top eight teams for the playoffs.

“We could have been 7-4 at this point,” stressed Snyder. “But we like what we have done lately. We believe we can be very competitive in the games this week, and we can’t come out flat.

“We just need to take one game at a time.”