Whether it's conference play or nonleague action, the Salisbury boys' basketball team has gotten off to a great start this season.

Taking a break from action in the Colonial League, the Falcons hosted Lincoln Leadership Academy on Saturday night in the semifinals of the Salisbury Holiday Tournament.

Their night ended much like many of their previous contests-with another tally in the win column.

Six Falcons scored nine or more points to help hold off a late Lion rally in the fourth quarter. Despite being outscored 24-19 in the final eight minutes, Salisbury was able to advance to the championship game against Quakertown on Monday night after downing the Lions 70-63. Results from the championship game were not available at time of press.

"In the fourth quarter, we had patience, we took our time, we executed, we got to the foul line and we took good shots," head coach Jason Weaver said. "I think it was a good win for us. They are a good basketball team. They shoot the ball well, and they are pretty quick and athletic."

The Falcons, now 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the Colonial League, are one of two unbeaten teams in conference. The other is Southern Lehigh, a squad the Falcons will face Jan. 13 in Center Valley.

Despite little varsity experience from a year ago, the Falcons are cruising along. Weaver is particularly pleased with how his team's defense has come together.

"I think we can compete with anybody," Weaver said. "Our defense is probably a little bit further along than I thought. If we're hitting our shots, we can compete with anybody."

The only blemish for the Falcons thus far is a 58-32 loss to Pottsville on December 20.

In Saturday's game against Lincoln Leadership, Dasheen Reid led the balanced Falcon attack with 14 points, while Bryce Fairclough added 13. Tevon Weber (11) and Brendan Reichenbach (10) also chipped, while Chad Cooperman Dylan Belletiere each added nine.

"I think maybe our balance is a little bit more than I expected in a sense," Weaver said. "On any given night, we can have a couple different of people that we're going to have as our leading scorers."

Salisbury jumped out to a quick 17-10 lead after the first quarter of play, and the host Falcons led 51-39 going into the fourth. Monty Farmer (21) and Ramfis Rodriguez (15), however, made a combined 11 three-pointers to keep the Lions alive.

"We actually got the lead up to 16 at one point in the third quarter," Weaver said. "They shot 11-for-17 from the 3-point line, and that sort of kept them in the game."

While the Falcons have cruised for much of the early going, Weaver understands the task at-hand as the schedule heats up in the upcoming weeks.

First is a league matchup with Notre Dame (Green Pond) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The Crusaders lost a number of key pieces from a year ago when they both leagues and districts in 2014 and are 3-2 so far in league play.

The Falcons host Northwestern three days late then face two of the top Colonial League teams in back-to-back contests against Bangor and Southern Lehigh. The two teams are a combined 9-1 in conference at the holiday break.

"We're going to know in the next two weeks where we stand against those teams," Weaver said. "I think we're pretty confident right now. We're playing pretty well as a team, we're sharing the ball, and guys are having fun out there."