CARLISLE -- While a tactical change at the break brought Adam Newhard plenty of unwanted defensive pressure, there's a reason why Palmyra's senior drew so much attention for such a lengthy period of time.
His start.
His sizzling start.
His scintillating start.
His ridiculously impressive start.
Yes, the kid was on early.
And, ultimately, Palmyra used every one of Newhard's early buckets to get where it wanted to go.
Burying six treys in the first half -- on just six attempts -- the 6-2 Newhard collected 18 of his 26 points in 14-plus minutes as Pete Conrad's Cougars registered a 78-67 victory over Boiling Springs in a District 3-AAA quarterfinal-round game Friday night at Gene Evans Gymnasium.
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Logan Stovall added 17 points, Chris Lynn chipped in 13 and Trey Baker pocketed 13 for No. 12 Palmyra (17-7), which earned a return engagement with Susquehanna Twp. in Monday's semis at Giant Center.
Palmyra, which split a pair of regular-season encounters with Susquehanna Twp., also locked up its first journey to states since 2005.
Eric Contreras bucketed 20 points, Matt Gelber tacked on 16 and Austin Pittenger added 12 for Pat Dieter's 13th-seeded Bubblers (16-8), who return to Carlisle on Monday for a consolation semi against Northeastern.
Although Newhard's first pop was off the mark -- he hoisted shot No. 1 from inside the 3-point arc, so perhaps he was too close to the basket -- his next six found only the bottom of the net. None even grazed the rim.
Didn't matter whether Newhard was parked in the right corner, in the left corner or one of the wings. As soon as the Palmyra swingman found space and one of his teammates found him, the ball was going up.
And in.
"I don't think so," Newhard said, when asked whether he'd ever experienced a start quite like the one he enjoyed Friday night.
"They were leaving me open and the guys found me," added Newhard, who finished 7-for-11 from the floor, 6-for-7 from deep.
"They were all easy after that."
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Despite Newhard's early barrage, as well as efficient first-half offensive performances from Stovall and Baker, the Cougars needed Lynn's late pilfer and conventional three-point play to grab a 40-34 halftime lead.
While Palmyra was 11-for-17 from the floor in the first half -- and a perfect 8-for-8 from beyond the arc -- Dieter's Bubblers shot even better. Boiling Springs, in fact, was a dandy 12-for-17 from the field before the break.
The 6-5 Contreras, who didn't start in Tuesday night's 69-64 victory at Steel-High and didn't score either, had 11 points at the break.
Contreras also finished with six rebounds, set up a Sam Gelber finish with a slick dish and two blocked shots.
"Eric played the way we know he's capable of playing," Dieter said. "But the thing is he doesn't always play that way."
"Contreras made some tough shots," a complimentary Newhard said.
"They shot the ball outrageously well in the first half," Conrad admitted.
Nonetheless -- and especially since four Boiling Springs starters were parked alongside Dieter & Co. with two fouls apiece for much of the second quarter -- the Bubblers were nothing short of ecstatic to be down just six.
And they could have been closer.
"They shot the ball tremendously well, but we were where we wanted to be," said Dieter, whose Bubblers are trying to reach states for the first time since 1997. "We wanted to stay close and get to halftime.
"But [Lynn's three-point play] was a killer."
Not entirely.
Boiling Springs responded early in the third, unveiling a triangle-and-two defensive set designed to slow down Newhard (gritty 5-9 senior Jackie Lithgow was handed that assignment) and Baker (Contreras drew him).
"We wanted to make other people beat us," Dieter said.
While that tactical adjustment slowed down the Cougars long enough for Contreras' elbow jumper to tie the score (42-42) with 4:34 gone, the last of Baker's treys moments later had Conrad's club back on top.
Said Conrad: "We had a response."
And that's exactly where the Lebanon Countians remained.
In front.
Palmyra added to its narrow lead, too, outscoring the Bubblers 13-4 to close the third. Newhard's penetration and finish just before the horn handed the Cougars a 55-46 advantage that only wavered slightly.
Lynn hit two timely treys in the final quarter -- the Cougars finished with 11 triples in 17 attempts -- but Conrad's club really polished off Friday night's win by canning 15 of its 20 free-throw attempts down the stretch.
Newhard was 6-for-10.
Baker buried all four of his tries.
Stovall canned a pair
And Brad Mackey was 5-for-6.
So while Palmyra finished 27 of 37 at the stripe -- 51 personals and one technical foul were whistled by the Mid-Penn Conference crew -- Dieter's Bubblers converted 18 of their 23 free-throw attempts.
Yet, despite the many stops and starts, the Cougars prevailed.
Next stop: Monday's semis ... and eventually states.
And while Conrad knows his free-flowing ballclub needs to be stingier at the defensive end than it was against the Bubblers, he believes his Cougars can take something else from Friday's 3-AAA outing.
Not just the result.
"Hopefully," Conrad said, "this experience made us better."
Certainly happier.
"It feels so great," Newhard admitted. "Last year, we came up a game short [of making states] when we felt we should have still been playing basketball."
MICHAEL BULLOCK: mbullock@pennlive.com
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