After their first seven games of the season, Salisbury has begun to realize how its defense can be a key to its success down the road.

Specifically, the Falcons got a recent reminder when they rallied for a 78-72 overtime win over Saucon Valley in the consolation game of their holiday tournament Dec. 28. A day earlier, Salisbury (5-2) dropped a 47-44 decision to Quakertown in the opening game of the tournament on a last-second three-point shot.

With the game tied at 67-67 beginning the overtime period, Salisbury shut down the middle as well as defended the outside from Saucon Valley’s guard trio of Cam Allen (game-high 32 points), Will Smith and Josh Snead, who combined for 63 overall points and eight three-pointers.

Blake Jones (team-high 21 points) drilled a 3-pointer that pushed Salisbury over the top at 73-69 with 2:04 left in the overtime period, and the Falcons took advantage of a one-and-one situation from the foul line in the final two minutes.

The Falcons muddled through the first half and went to the locker room behind 39-38 when Snead (16 points) drained a long 3-pointer at the buzzer. Allen, Snead and Smith (15 points) were a thorn in the Falcons’ side all night.

“I ripped into them at halftime and thought our defensive effort was just poor,” said Salisbury head coach Jason Weaver. “We started in a zone because we were worried about how we were going to cover their guards. Our man-to-man (defense) in the first half was lackadaisical.

“We focused on it (defense) in the second half and it got a lot better in the fourth quarter. Our help (defense) was better and we hedged out on their shooters to force them into tougher shots. It was a tough matchup for us because we are a bigger and slower team this year.”

Forward Jaxon Costello tied the game in the closing seconds of regulation with a one-handed floater, and he later sank two foul shots with 18.3 seconds left in overtime before Jack Reichenbach (20 points) followed with a pair of free throws that sealed it with 10.9 second remaining.

Costello was a force down low in the second half, as he finished also finished with a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He saw the victory as a wake-up call for his team.

“At the half, coach got on us about our defense,” said Costello. “Our problem today was hedging because we weren’t doing that on Allen or Snead. Once we started doing that, we forced them into some tough shots and started grabbing rebounds.

“Every game, we have come out slow on defense. This was a big confidence booster, and we’ll be ready for them again. When we play as a team, everything really comes together for us.”

The Falcons hosted Saucon Valley Tuesday in a Colonial League match up. That game was played after Press deadline. The Falcons travel to Catasauqua Thursday. They will end the week with an afternoon tilt against Northwestern Saturday.

Defense certainly will be a point of emphasis.

“It (defense) has been our focus all year,” said Weaver. “It is fun to play offense, but it has to be fun to play defense. That’s not their mindset yet, but it has to get to that point. We’re a work in progress.

“I’m not satisfied on how we play defense, but we can score. They have to buy into wanting to play defense.”