Seniors Jaxon Costello and Ryan Slutsky have formed a formidable one-two punch for the Salisbury boys basketball team this season. The two forwards have wreaked havoc on opponents at on both ends of the court.

The two were at it again last Saturday night, combining for 40 points and 17 rebounds while helping to lead the third seeded Falcons (18-5 overall) to a 65-54 win over sixth seed Moravian Academy (11-12 overall) in the Colonial League quarterfinals. It was the 10th win in the last 11 games for Salisbury, and the third time this year they defeated the Lions.

“It was great to get this win in our last home game,” said Costello. “The seniors wanted this one so we can go out the right way. We knew we had to come out strong because they were going to give us their best shot. Coach [Weaver] told us before the game that we need to look down low more than anything else, and establish the paint, and then everything else will come. Ryan and I were able to do that, and credit to them for their physical defense on us all night.”

Costello took the brunt of some physical defense in the paint, but for the most part kept his composure and had his way grabbing missed shots. He tallied 22 points and 18 rebounds. Slutsky added 18 points and nine boards.

“Jaxon and I are two of the bigger kids in this league with both of us at 6-4 or 6-5,” Slutsky said. “We had to be dominant down there with the type of height we had over them. It’s something we’ve been doing most of our lives.”

The Falcons were cruising along in the first half, leading by as much as 13 midway through the second quarter, but Moravian Academy chipped away behind leading scorer Jordan Holmqvist, who had 14 of his team-high 19 points after the opening quarter.

It was a 32-26 game at halftime, and the Lions came all the way back to tie the score at 32-32. After six lead changes in the third quarter, the Falcons went back to what gave them a sizable lead - their two senior forwards.

“Moravian played us with a zone defense the first two times we played them, and they came out in a man-to-man tonight and really pressured us,” head coach Jason Weaver said. “We went to our bigs inside and executed just well enough offensively and got some stops defensively to win.”

The defense held the Lions to just three points in the first few minutes of the final quarter. But still, even with a slight lead, the Falcons had to put the game away by putting the ball in the hoop.

“I think the biggest thing for us finishing this one was our free-throw shooting,” said Costello. “Without our team shooting well at the line in the fourth quarter, I don’t know if we pull this one out. The whole team contributed there which was great.”

Salisbury made 22 of 28 foul shots, including 14 of 17 in the fourth quarter. Costello and fellow senior Blake Jones went 6-for-6 at the line in the fourth.

The Falcons had four players record double digit points. Along with Costello and Slutsky, Jones (11 points) and junior Jack Reichenbach (12 points) were in double figures.

Salisbury will now face the No. 2 seed Southern Lehigh in the semifinals Wednesday at Catasauqua High School at 6 p.m. The Falcons split this year’s two meetings against the rival Spartans. They lost an early-season meeting but got revenge in the final game of the regular season.