The Northampton boys’ basketball team entered Friday night’s matchup looking to start the season with a win over their smaller crosstown rivals, the Catasauqua Rough Riders and they did just that with a 73-55 victory.

Catasauqua’s boys’ team entered their first home game of the season hoping to right the wrongs of last year’s 1-21 squad.

Northampton senior G/F Dylan Baird started the game hot, knocking down a 3-pointer and scoring a wild layup while being fouled, converting on the single free throw. Catasauqua’s offensive combination of Derek Troxell and Derek George helped Catty get on the board, but the Roughies gave up a lot of free runs and open shots for the K-Kids.

Northampton continued to push hard in the second quarter. Kids senior G Donte Rodriguez converted on two crafty layup opportunities at the start of the quarter and fellow senior G/F Zac Gula was dominant all quarter, scoring 9 points. The two seniors helped push the Northampton lead to 20 points at the half.

Catasauqua senior F Gideon Mackenzie came in and hit two 3’s near the end of the quarter, giving the Roughies a bit of life trailing 37-17 at halftime.

“I contribute the fast start in the game to the experience we had returning this year,” said head coach Coy Stampone. “A lot of these guys have played in big games over their basketball careers. I was also impressed by the many interchangeable parts we have on this team and our overall depth. I was pleased going into halftime with a 37-17 halftime score.”

The third quarter was a continuation of the second. Northampton’s Rodriguez and Gula simply couldn’t be stopped as the two seniors combined to outscore the entire Catty squad 17-15 in the quarter. Add in a couple of free throws from senior G/F Jake Christman, another basket by Baird and the Northampton lead soared to 58-31 by the end of the quarter.

“I feel we have a lot of weapons including Zac and Donte and we need all our parts clicking to be successful and staying focused,” Stampone said. “We shot 16-18 from the FT line against Catty. We need to keep that foul shooting percentage up and get to the foul line. Their senior leadership is important to our success.”

The highlight of the night came when Gula hit a three-point shot right in front of the away bench as the buzzer sounded to end the quarter. The senior did not play the rest of the game. He finished with a team-high 19 points, hitting three 3-pointers and converting 5-5 from the free throw line. Gula led the team, last year, with 14.3 ppg.

Northampton and Catasauqua’s backups began to enter the contest at the start of the fourth. Catty’s backups were able to spark a small comeback, but the score was already too far out of reach.

Catty’s continued effort on defense throughout the game was commendable. It was a tough matchup for the Rough Riders as they faced off against a Northampton team that saw four key contributors return from last year’s team. Catty senior G Derek Troxell scored a game-high 20 points and will look to be a dominant force in the Colonial League this season.