Northwestern Lehigh may have gotten its season off to a late start having to wait for some players to complete a state championship football season, but the Tiger boys basketball team made up for lost time and won 24 games, one of which was a Colonial League championship.

In districts, the Tigers went to the finals and finished with silver medals around their necks. Their season ended earlier than they might have hoped, but it was still a success by many measures.

Head coach Patrick Wanamaker took over the program before the 2023-24. His first two seasons have been a success and he credits the players for that.

“I got hired here two years ago and our staff got hired two years ago and from the moment we met, these guys did everything we asked them to do,” Wanamaker said. “[The seniors are] a special group of kids and really set the bar high as far as teams go and special groups go. I told them that one day I hope they understand just how special their season was.”

Wanamaker loses five seniors, three of which were starters, while the other two played significant minutes for the team.

Gavin Nelson surpassed the 1,000 point milestone during the season and finished his career with 1,391 points.

In his senior season, Nelson averaged just under 20 points per game in helping to lead the Tigers to play in states. Nelson helped to get the team focused early on when they were practicing without a number of players because of football. His leadership on and off the court was impressive for the team.

Eli Zimmerman stepped from the football field to the basketball court and didn’t miss a beat. As the featured running back in football, Zimmerman took a pounding, and he never shied away from contact on the basketball court either. In addition to what he gave in both sports, Zimmerman was named a Scholar Athlete, showing his dedication to the academic side of his high school career.

Shane Marth came into his own as a senior and became a third guy that teams had to watch on the court. If teams tried to pay too much attention to Nelson and/or Zimmerman, Marth would light up the scoreboard. When all three of the senior starters were on, it was something to see.

Josh Wambold and Nolan Fitzgerald came off the bench and played quality minutes for the Tigers, giving Wanamaker the ability to give other players breathers as needed.

“Really, it was a group thing from our seniors. They all had their roles and accepted them and played them really well for us,” said Wanamaker. “I think they all complemented each other very well and I credit them with really showing younger players what it takes to have success.”

Wanamaker looks at taking steps each season to make the team better. This season saw Northwestern Lehigh reach states and that’s something to build on for the future. Younger players got to experience playoff runs in the league and district tournaments that went into the finals and helped show them what it takes to win those big games.

The cupboard is far from empty for Wanamaker. Brady Krimmel worked his way into a starting role as a sophomore and junior Mason Bollinger figures to be one of the team leaders next winter. There’s another Zimmerman coming along as Brady Zimmerman just completed his sophomore season and developed well. Junior Cannon Fitch showed an ability to hit three-pointers and could become a true outside presence for Northwestern next season.

“We have a lot of talented kids and that’s partly because we just have really good people in Northwestern Lehigh and partly because these kids make each other better every day,” said Wanamaker. “These kids are going to have to fill a lot of minutes, but ultimately, I think we have set a pretty good standard for the program and hopefully, we can keep striving to reach further and further.”