After going to overtime against Stroudsburg 18 hours earlier, no one would have blamed Aidan Ellwood and the Northampton boys basketball team for coming out a little sluggish against Catasauqua on Jan. 13.

The 6-1 senior missed his first three field goal attempts and went 0-for-3 from the free throw line on a fouled 3-point attempt in the second quarter.

Then he woke up.

Ellwood scored a career-high 35 points as the K-Kids defeated their crosstown rivals 75-64 in front of a raucous Catty crowd.

Northampton jumped out to an 18-11 first quarter lead, but Isiah Graves led the Rough Riders to an explosive second quarter. Catty’s star guard scored 15 of Catty’s first 18 points and finished the first half with 26 points as the Rough Riders took a 39-35 lead into the break.

“Fatigue was definitely settling in,” Ellwood said. “We said we’ve just got suck it up and dig deep. We played a good second half.”

Coach Coy Stampone’s halftime adjustments worked, as the K-Kids held Graves to just five points in the second half. A 13-0 Northampton run that spanned the third and fourth quarter gave the K-Kids a 10-point lead after trailing by three.

Senior Cory Weisenberger finished the contest with 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Sophomore Zachary Gula scored all 13 of his points in the second half.

Catty’s Cullen Bond cut the deficit to six with 1:35 remaining, but Northampton was able to put the game away at the free throw line.

With the victory, the K-Kids improved to 9-3 on the season. Northampton travels to Bethlehem Catholic on Friday, Jan. 19.