For the seniors on the Northwestern Lehigh basketball team, Monday night was their night to shine, and they turned senior night into a highlight reel for their abilities both individually and as a team.

Four of the five seniors finished with double-digit scoring and two of them pulled off a steal that turned into a slam dunk at the other end as the Tigers downed Palmerton 71-36 in the regular season finale.

Northwestern (17-1 Colonial, 20-2 overall) slowly built up a seven-point lead in the first quarter before Corey Serfass nailed a three-pointer to make the game 13-9.

From there the Tigers combined a high-speed offense and an imposing defense to go on a 15-0 run that stretched from the final minute of the opening quarter to two minutes into the second quarter as they pulled ahead 28-9.

In the second quarter alone, Northwestern scored six points off offensive rebounds and eight points off Palmerton turnovers, many of which were forced by the Tigers defense.

Palmerton (7-11 Colonial, 8-14 overall) looked to fight their way back with Gaige McGowan sinking a pair of three-pointers to cut the lead to 18 and Cameron Pengelly had a put back to make the score 39-23 with :30 left in the first half. On their final trip down the floor, Brady Zimmerman answered with a three for the Tigers to make it a 42-23 game at the half.

“Our team works really well together, and we’re all like brothers here,” said senior Nolan Fitzgerald. “We get out there on the floor and work to make sure that we do things right and that leads to success.”

The third quarter saw the Tigers outscore the Bombers 17-0 as they continued to force turnovers and out-rebound Palmerton.

For the game, the Tigers had 10 offensive rebounds and turned them into 14 points and turned 20 turnovers into 18 points. Northwestern seniors Gavin Nelson and Shane Marth provided highlight plays on back-to-back trips down the floor by Palmerton.

Nelson swiped the ball away and raced to the basket from just inside half court and finished the play with a mighty dunk. On the next trip down by the Bombers, Marth duplicated the play to put Northwestern up 53-23 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.

“We did a really good job, especially in the second and third quarters, of controlling the game defensively and that’s what we preach,” said head coach Patrick Wanamaker. “We were able to score a little bit in the first half and our defense got a lot of stops and that let us run the floor the way we need to. I’m really proud of the guys.”

Nelson finished the game with 17 points and Marth finished with 12. They were joined by classmates Fitzgerald who had 11 points and Eli Zimmerman who finished with 10.

“It was nice to showcase our seniors tonight because they deserve it,” said Wanamaker. “I’ve had them for two years now and they have all worked hard and accepted their role with the team and I have confidence in all of them.

“A guy like Nolan Fitzgerald comes to practice every day and works his tail off. He has a role on the team, and he has bought into that role and tonight he showed what he is capable of doing for us. He just has a lot of really talented players around him or he would be getting more time.”

Fitzgerald and Josh Wambold have both been valuable off the bench for Wanamaker and both know what the team looks to them to do when they get into games.

“I feel really good about my role with the team,” said Wambold. “Everybody has to play a role and none of them are too small, so I feel like I can contribute when I get on the court.”

Northwestern goes into the Colonial League tournament as the number two seed behind Notre Dame of Green Pond. The two teams finished with identical league records, but the Crusaders beat Northwestern during the regular season to be awarded the higher seed. Northwestern will host seventh seeded Wilson Friday. The Warriors and Salisbury Falcons tied for the sixth seed, but the Warriors lost to the Falcons during the regular season and slipped a spot in the seeding.