The Northwestern boys basketball team has become a prolific scoring team this season, but at times it is also prone to giving up a lot of points as well.

In their last seven games, the Tigers have averaged over 64 points per game, while allowing 52 points per game to their opponents.

The Tigers gave up nearly 70 points per game in two recent contests, thanks in part to some defensive miscues and opponents with high-powered offenses. Notre Dame (Green Pond) beat Northwestern 69-66 and Palmerton downed the Tigers 68-52 before the two-game skid was snapped against Southern Lehigh (6-8 Colonial, 7-12 overall) Monday night with a 58-37 win over Southern Lehigh.

Shane Marth led the way Monday with three three-pointers and 18 points for Northwestern Lehigh (10-4, 12-6), while Gavin Nelson scored 11 points in the win.

Northwestern made it look easy with a 14-6 lead after the first quarter and a commanding 33-12 advantage as the teams went to the locker room for halftime. The second half was a mix of styles with the two teams combining for 17 points, while putting up a total of 33 points in the final quarter of the game.

In the loss to Palmerton (10-4, 10-8), the Blue Bombers offense put on a show. Matt Machalik scored a game-high 26 points, Brayden Hosier scored 17, and Jacob Grammes scored 13 with three three-pointers. For Northwestern, Nelson scored 17 and Marth added 15 points.

Palmerton held a 38-33 lead at halftime and their defense locked down Northwestern in the third quarter to increase the lead to 56-39, giving the Bombers a margin that they would be able to hang onto the rest of the way.

There are just four regular season games remaining with three of them against Colonial League teams.

First up is a road game at Salisbury (9-5, 12-7), followed by the Northern Lehigh Bulldogs (0-15, 2-18) coming to town on Friday. The final home game is against Brandywine Heights (8-14) before the season wraps up against Catasauqua (6-8, 7-11).