For a Salisbury team that has rarely played together at full strength, the Falcons put forth a solid showing in the Stellar Catch A Rising Star Basketball Showcase last weekend at Cedar Beach.

A long legion baseball season has kept a number of key Falcon players off the basketball court on a regular basis, and that continued for two of the Falcons' three games at the Stellar. The players that took the court didn't let that affect their play.

"We haven't had the baseball guys all summer," said head coach Jason Weaver. "After the season they've had, they've had a legion game every night.

"It's been a good experience. We were able to get a win and get to Saturday and battle. And [we had] three close games."

Justin Aungst and Brad Vangeli were absent from Friday's opening-round loss to Delaware Valley of New Jersey, as well as Saturday evening's defeat to Parkland's junior varsity team. The Falcons lost both games by a combined eight points.

Naveed Hadian missed the tournament due to injury and Eddie Sanchez wasn't available for the Parkland game either, leaving Austin Uhl as the lone player from a season ago that had varsity experience.

While the Falcons trailed by double digits in the second half against the Trojans, Salisbury responded after intermission and cut the deficit tremendously before falling by just three points.

"With the lineup we had today, we're not a team that can score very well," said Weaver. "We made a nice comeback because I think we started playing a little bit better defensively. The deficit was probably too big to make a comeback."

After a number of turnovers haunted the Falcons late against Del Val, Salisbury responded late Friday night when storms forced action inside at Parkland High School. With Aungst and Vangeli back, the Falcons took on Warrick and won by four.

Weaver saw a difference in his team when everyone is suited up.

"When Aungst is here, his energy and all the intangibles that he brings makes everybody else so much better," said Weaver. "Watching that game last night [Friday against Warrick], he's diving for loose balls, he's getting the offensive rebounds, and he's attacking the hoop. People feed off that, and we miss his energy when he's not here big time,"

The Falcons will participate in the upcoming SportsFest Basketball Tournament as well, which begins on Thursday at Ceadar Beach.