Salisbury head coach Jason Weaver has had plenty of gifted shooters during his career at the helm of the Falcons. But no group may be more talented than this year’s team.

And when opponents are running a zone defense, it plays right into Salisbury’s hands. Take last week’s pivotal Colonial League meeting with Moravian Academy for example.

Moravian’s zone defense couldn’t slow down Salisbury’s red-hot shooting. The Falcons (4-1) hit nine 3-pointers, had scored 40 points by halftime, and downed the Lions 74-58, last Thursday at Salisbury High School.

The win propelled Salisbury to second place in the District 11 Class 4A rankings, behind only unbeaten Lehighton (5-0).

“Tonight, that’s a complete team victory,” Weaver said. “We moved the ball well. We didn’t settle for shots. Everybody got involved. I was really happy with our effort tonight.

“We moved the ball against the zone and we really shot the ball well. In the second quarter we were hitting shots. Blake [Jones] was hitting. Jack hit a couple of 3-pointers, and then Jaxon [Costello] sort of took over in the third quarter.”

After holding a 20-11 lead after the first eight minutes, a quarter in which Jack Reichenbach hit two from three-point range, Salisbury’s offense didn’t slow down one bit in the second quarter. And it started and ended with the three-point shot.

Jones led Salisbury with four 3-pointers, two in the second quarter, to help his team take a 40-27 lead into intermission. The Falcons’ leading scorer, Costello (23 points), and Ryan Slutsky also hit from deep in the frame to keep Moravian at a distance.

“I feel like the zone really opened up the shots for our shooters,” Costello said. “Blake, Ryan and Jack, all of them were hitting 3-pointers. That’s another factor that came into play to help us take the big lead.

“You know it’s a good shooting day when I hit a 3-pointer. I have confidence in my shot. If I’m open [coach Weaver will] let me shoot it, but he doesn’t want me taking tough 3-pointers.”

While Moravian (4-3) was certainly able to score in the first half, led by sophomore Jordan Holmqvist’s 13 points, the tide turned in the third quarter. Following a few adjustments on the defensive end, Salisbury held the Lions to 10 points in the frame.

Holmqvist, who scored a game-high 24 points, only scored two point in the third quarter. By the time the fourth quarter was set to begin, the game was out of reach as Salisbury held a 66-37 lead and many of its starters did not play the final eight minutes.

“They were setting a lot of high screens for Holmqvist,” said Costello, who scored 11 points and grabbed five boards in the third quarter. “We knew we had to come out harder on them, and force him into a rushed shot or a turnover. I thought that was a big difference.”

“Overall our defense was pretty solid tonight,” Weaver said. “Holmqvist had his points, but I thought Sean Snyder did a good job making him work for them. We didn’t give him anything easy. We did a good job hedging out and helping.”

The fourth quarter allowed for Weaver to rest his starters and play every member of the team. It provided him with an opportunity to get a number of his role players necessary court time early in the season, with the thought that someone, at some point, may be called upon in a game of higher magnitude.

“The Oliver [Stewart], [Eric] Frankenfield and Joey [Galantini], we’re going to need those guys in a pressure situation,” Weaver said. “We have to keep getting them minutes. This is the first game all year where we were able to get everyone in, which is a good thing.

“We can score. I’m not worried about us being able to score the basketball. It’s just that when we get that pressure, are we going to be able stop people? And tonight we got stops, which I was really happy about.”

Jones added 18 points for the Falcons, Reichenbach scored 12 and Slutsky added eight in the win.

Salisbury will next host Quakertown, Saucon Valley and Northampton in its annual holiday tournament.