Head coach Jason Weaver knew he would be able to find out a lot about his team in just the first week of the season. Salisbury boys basketball opened the winter season with road games against Blue Mountain and Bangor, teams that the Falcons lost to in the district semifinals and Colonial League championship game, respectively, a season ago.

While going 1-1 over that stretch, Weaver was pleased at how his squad has opened 2017 despite losing three starters from last year’s state tournament team.

Salisbury opened the season by gaining some revenge over Blue Mountain in its opener last Friday. Then, the Falcons competed against Bangor on Monday night in their second road game before falling 56-49.

“When I heard that we opened up on the road at Blue Mountain and at Bangor, with two starters back and some new guys in new spots, I was thinking, ‘Man, that’s a tough way to open up,’” Weaver said following Salisbury’s game against Bangor. “That’s two long road trips with two teams that qualified for the state tournament last year, so I knew it was going to be a challenge.”

In a matchup between two of the conference’s perennial top teams, Salisbury took control against Bangor early with a 32-24 lead at halftime. Jaxon Costello’s 12 points and 11 rebounds at intermission, combined with a stingy defensive effort that limited the Slaters to 8-for-27 shooting in the first half, had the home crowd quiet.

But Dylan Benton, who was held to two free throws in the first half, scored 10 points in the final 16 minutes and the Slaters pulled even at 38-38 by the end of the third quarter. Bangor hit free throws when needed to grind out the seven-point victory.

“I was most proud of how hard we played,” Weaver said. “Our guys brought the energy. We had a great first half. In the second half we just gave up too many second-chance points. Those are the things that can change the whole course of a close game where it’s a one- or two-possession game.”

Those second-chance opportunities were seen most late in the fourth quarter. After Benton hit a free throw and missed the second to give Bangor a 46-43 advantage with 2:02 to play, Isaiah Jones came away with a rebound and the Slaters ran out some more clock before Anthony Schiavone nailed two more free throws.

“I think they turned up the pressure a little bit more,” Weaver said. “They were fighting around him [Costello]. We were having a little harder time getting the ball inside.”

While Dylan Benton was able to find a groove offensively in the second half and Seth Benton scored six in the fourth quarter, Weaver was pleased with how his team handled the twins defensively.

“I told the guys that I thought in the championship game last year, the Benton brothers ate us up,” Weaver said. “We couldn’t stop them. We didn’t have an answer for them. But I thought we played really solid defense on them. We played good initial defense, but we gave up those offensive boards.”

Salisbury struggled offensively over the final two quarters. A big part in its 6-for-23 shooting effort over the final 16 minutes was due in large part to the Slaters’ defense on Costello. The Falcon big man only got two shots in the second half, both 3-pointers from the corner.

“We had good patience,” Weaver said. “You might not be able to get it in the post the first time, but after two or three ball reversals and you go inside out, things are going to open. We did a good job of that in the first half. I thought Jaxon, they couldn’t handle him inside in the first half. But I don’t know if he scored in the second half.”

Jack Reichenbach led Salisbury with 15 points. Blake Jones added 13 (with two 3-pointers) and Costello finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds.