Catasauqua head boys basketball coach Eric Snyder previously has been down this road.

He sees his team beginning a stretch run Friday night at Northern Lehigh that will play in the outcome on whether the Roughies can return to district play for the first time in two years.

Catty needs four more wins over their last 11 games to gain a ticket to the district playoffs.

“You have the dog days for baseball, now these are the dog days for basketball,” said the veteran coach is in his 25th year at the helm. “I told them after the Bangor game that this is the time to make the run for districts. The gauntlet run we had against Salisbury, Moravian, and Bangor is over. Now, we have to get things in gear.”

The Roughies (5-6) dropped a 66-39 contest to Bangor Monday night in a game in which their lack of size became apparent. The Roughies found themselves in a 34-13 hole at halftime. Isaiah Graves led the Roughies with 13 of his team’s 39 points.

“We had trouble staying with them (Bangor),” said Snyder. “They are very good and they can battle inside and shoot from the outside. They came out to start the second half and hit five shots in a row.

“We tried to slow them down, but we had to make our shots.”

The Bangor defeat extended their losing streak to three games, a span in which they have allowed 62 points per game. Catty began the season losing three of its first four games, but then rebounded with a stellar four-game winning junket in which they allowed just 47.5 points per contest.

Snyder sees his team’s overall defensive play as a positive. Lacking a down-low presence, he will rely on his team’s ability to hit and outside shot and drive the lane.

“We have done a nice job defensively,” he said. “This is considering we really don’t have an inside game nor a post-up game. They have relied on speed.

“I was disappointed with our first half at Moravian Academy. We were 6-for-28 shooting and only 4-for-10 inside the three-point line. We were 2-for-18 from three points. We had a lot of open shots, too. We shot 14-for-55 overall, and we can’t afford to do that and believe we can be successful.”

The Roughies again will get right back into action after Friday’s game at Northern Lehigh as they travel a few miles to Northampton for a 1 p.m. matinee Saturday. The Konkrete kids are in a similar situation, battling for a district spot.

The following week, the Roughies travel to Pen Argyl Tuesday, go to Lehighton Wednesday, and host Southern Lehigh next Saturday afternoon.

“We like our chances of making districts,” added Snyder. “We have to go out and win the games we should be able to win. We can’t afford any letdowns along the way.”