Before Friday’s district playoff game against Jim Thorpe, Salisbury recalled what happened exactly a week earlier in the Colonial League championship game. A number of questionable possessions late in the game played a part in an upsetting loss to eventual league champion Bangor.

There was a brief lapse once again that allowed Jim Thorpe to erase an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter and tie the game early in the fourth.

This time, however, Salisbury maintained its poise and responded when it mattered most. Led by a game-high 20 points from Tevon Weber, the No. 2 seeded Falcons topped No. 10 Jim Thorpe, 60-55, in Friday’s District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal at Southern Lehigh.

“These guys sat in that locker room, and there were a lot of long faces last Friday night because of things we could have done better,” Falcon head coach Jason Weaver said. “It was the same thing here. You get a lead and you don’t need to take fadeaways or jumpshots with guys in your face.

“We knew it was going to be a battle. Luckily we were playing on a court we’re familiar with. We did just enough down the stretch to execute and hit enough foul shots to get a big win.”

The Falcons hit six of nine free throws in the fourth quarter, including one of two from Weber with 16 seconds to play that basically sealed the victory. But it was Weber’s play over the final 16 minutes that helped Salisbury weather Jim Thorpe’s rally.

Dylan Belletiere, after sustaining an injury early in the game, connected on a three-point play near the end of the third quarter that gave Salisbury its biggest lead at 43-32. But Jim Thorpe ended the frame on a 7-0 run to put to rest any thought of a potential blowout.

The Olympians’ momentum carried into the fourth quarter, and their guard play was a big reason. Brendan Carroll scored eight of his 18 points in the final period, and his driving layup with 5:21 remaining tied the game at 47.

“We saw them against North Schuylkill and their guards did not play the same way they played tonight,” said Weber, who scored 16 points in the final 16 minutes. “Their guards played a heck of a game, and their big man is just a freak athlete.”

Weber, however responded with a three-pointer from the right wing that took a couple of bounces and eventually fell through the hoop, pushing Salisbury back ahead 50-47. It was his second bucket from three-point range in the game.

“I got a lucky roll,” Weber said. “They gave me a lot of room so I wasn’t going to be afraid to shoot it.

“As a freshman and a sophomore I could shoot threes real well. And last year I kind of got rid of it when I moved to a big man. Towards the end of this year I started shooting a little bit more and getting more comfortable with it.”

Carroll hit a three-pointer that brought the score to 50 all with half the quarter to play, and he later hit another that trimmed a Falcon lead to 54-53 with 2:20 remaining. But that’s as close as the Olympians would get to within retaking the lead. Jaxon Costello scored six points in the final five minutes to help seal the victory.

“It just seemed that their guards, who struggled against North Schuylkill, those guys made every shot and were attacking the basket,” Weaver said. “They’re a solid basketball team.”

Paced by Jim Thorpe’s Rayan Green with 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including six in the opening quarter, the Olympians built leads of 7-2 and 13-7 against the higher-seeded Falcons.

Neither team led by more than four points in the second quarter, but three consecutive three-pointers from Chad Cooperman (12 points) helped Salisbury turn a one-point deficit into a 27-25 lead. Cooperman’s layup with less than a minute remaining in the half made it a 29-25 game, and the Falcons open the third quarter on an 11-5 spurt.

“Going up to see them, I was impressed by them,” Salisbury head coach Jason Weaver said. “I thought it was good for us to see these guys. Green up against North Schuylkill, he was just a beast in terms of posting up. And you saw him [tonight] stepping out and hitting jump shots. He was hitting 15- and 16-footers.”

The Falcons advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals against No. 3 Blue Mountain, a team Salisbury beat in the season opener a couple of months ago. No. 1 Pottsville and No. 5 Bethlehem Catholic squared off in the other semifinal matchup. Those games were played after Press deadline. See next week’s editon for coverage.

JIM THORPE

Carroll 7-0-0-18, Elmore 2-0-0-4, Micciche 5-1-2-11, Jefferson 0-0-0-0, Green 9-1-2-19, Laver 1-0-0-3, McElmoyle 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-2-4-55

SALISBURY

Weber 8-2-4-20, Cooperman 4-1-2-0, Reichenbach 3-0-0-7, Costello 4-3-4-11, Belletiere 2-3-4-7, Jones 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 22-9-14-60

Jim Thorpe 13 12 14 16 – 55

Salisbury 9 20 14 17 – 60

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe – Carroll 4, Laver 1; Salisbury – Cooperman 3, Weber 2, Reichenbach 1, Jones 1.