Last week’s rivalry game against Southern Lehigh would prove to be a solid measuring stick for how Salisbury stacked up against the league’s top competition. But once over, no other game this season left Jason Weaver as disappointed as last Wednesday.

After Salisbury took a six-point lead through eight minutes, Southern Lehigh outscored Salisbury 26-13 in the second quarter to gain full control. The Spartans did not let off the gas pedal, defeating the Falcons on their home court by a 67-53 final score.

The good thing for Salisbury was it would get a chance not even 24 hours later to get that sour taste out of its mouth. And that they were able to do with a solid 70-50 victory over Palmerton. Jaxon Costello poured in 31 points in that win.

Against Southern Lehigh (11-4 overall, 9-2 in Colonial League), however, Salisbury (9-4, 6-3) struggled to deal with the Spartans’ full court pressure. Once the Spartans started implementing their press in the second quarter, there was no answer.

“I think Bangor was in our face, Notre Dame was in our face and Blue Mountain was in our face,” Weaver said. “Maybe not for such an extended period of time, and I think their pressure got to us. We struggled to run an offense. We struggled to get good shots. We didn’t handle it well.”

In that eight-minute stretch of the second quarter where Southern Lehigh doubled up the Falcons, Salisbury committed nine turnovers. Many of those were results of the Spartans’ press and resulted in easy baskets in transition.

A 41-35 Southern Lehigh lead at halftime wasn’t enough to put the Falcons out of it, however Salisbury’s road to victory grew increasingly difficult as it continued to struggle with the pressure. The Spartans grew their lead to double figures at 49-39 when Sean Welsh found an open Jack Dougherty in the paint. Then, Dougherty set up Colin Hoff for two of his 12 points that gave the Spartans a 51-39 advantage.

“We had openings,” Weaver said. “We just had to get the ball in the middle, come to meet passes and look up court. The press was beatable if we executed.”

Salisbury did not get within single digits the rest of the way. Southern Lehigh hit 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter and the Spartans led by as many as 17 points in the final frame.

While Salisbury has been able to score in large amounts, it was the Spartans that benefited on that end of the floor last week. Guards Lucas Hudson and Welsh, both with a team-high 14 points, were able to drive past their defenders on multiple locations for layups, while the Spartans’ post scorers provided a nice complimentary piece in the paint.

“We didn’t have help, and sometimes we weren’t matched up,” Weaver said. “On defense, we need all five guys on the court playing every single minute they are on the court. We didn’t get that tonight. We didn’t have communication. We didn’t see things.”

Ryan Slutsky paced Salisbury with 15 points, seven of which came in the first quarter that helped give the Falcons the early advantage. Jack Reichenach scored 12 and Blake Jones added 11.

Salisbury hosts Palmerton on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. Results from Monday’s league game at Wilson were not available at time of press.