For the first time this season, Northwestern lost on the hardwood.

The Tigers had a chance to win the game right up until the final buzzer.

Pottsville hit 12 three-pointers and Northwestern hit eight in the game last week at Martz Hall. The Crimson Tide won the overtime game 64-62. The Tigers returned to the court and downed Bangor 45-34 on Saturday.

Northwestern could not slow down Pottsville’s Christian Alvarez, who had 18 of his game-high 30 points on threes. The three-pointers for the Tigers were more spread out with Brady Krimmel getting three, Malachi Coleman hitting for two and three other players each getting one a piece.

Krimmel’s three-point and foul shooting helped get him to a team-high 23 points. In addition to his three-point shooting, Krimmel was 8-for-8 from the foul line in the game.

Against Bangor, the game was close early on with the Slaters holding a 17-16 lead at the half as Lincoln Rehrig scored nine first-half points on three shots from beyond the arc.

Krimmel and Bangor’s Jason Marcantonis seemed to be playing against one another in the third quarter with Marcantonis scoring eight and Krimmel seven, but the supporting cast for Northwestern was stronger.

Mason Bollinger scored five, Coleman had three, and Harrison Wertman had two points. The Northwestern defense didn’t allow anyone other than Marcantonis to score in the quarter as the Tigers surged to a 33-25 lead, their largest of the game to that point.

“We didn’t really have to change much at halftime because we were doing the right thing, we just weren’t getting shots to fall,” said Northwestern head coach Pat Wanamaker. “We did a little Xs and Os work and got some guys in different spots and forced their zone to move a little bit side to side. And, it always helps when you hit shots, so that was the difference.”

Bollinger was steady throughout the game and finished with 13 points in the game to lead Northwestern. Krimmel added five more in the fourth, including going 3-for-4 from the foul line, finishing with 12 points.

“He’s been coming out of his offensive shell a little bit,” said Wanamaker of Krimmel’s recent play. “He’s always been able to do it, but he hasn’t always had to do it. We’ve asked a lot of him, but the two biggest plays he made today were not even on the offensive side of the floor.”

Krimmel made a nice stop on a rotation play to block a three-pointer and then after a turnover, he took a charge in the paint to get the ball back for Northwestern.

A key for Northwestern has been the ability to make crisp passes through small openings to get the ball where it needs to be for success. Several times against Bangor, players were able to work the ball through a crowd to find an open man for points.

“Our second team and everyone else really does a good job in practice to give us good looks so that in the game we know where everyone is going to be,” said Krimmel. “It’s all about finding the right angle and getting the ball to someone who has an open look to make a shot.”

The Tigers (7-1 overall, 7-0 CL) return home Friday night to host Notre Dame of Green Pond (7-2 overall, 6-0 CL) and then travels to Kutztown for a nonleague game on Monday.