Salisbury point guard Sean Snyder has been a three-year starter for head coach Jason Weaver. With 1:44 left to play in last week’s regular season finale against Southern Lehigh, Snyder walked off the court for the final time as a Falcon.

Snyder was the last of three Salisbury seniors to exit the floor and receive a standing ovation last Tuesday. And while the result-a 63-43 loss to the Spartans-officially eliminated the Falcons (8-14 overall; 5-12 in Colonial League) from playoff contention, it was a celebratory night for those in blue and white.

Tommy Sylvester, a two-year starter at guard, and Jack Frankenfield also played their last games in a Salisbury uniform.

“They are great kids and are going to make their mark way beyond the basketball court of Salisbury High School,” Weaver said. “There’s never an issue with grades. There’s never an issue with behavior. They are good guys and good students, and all are going to college and going to have great successes beyond here.”

When it came to the game, Salisbury actually got off to a fast start by scoring the first two baskets. And the Falcons led 8-3 early after Snyder scored the first of his six points.

But the Spartans (14-8; 14-3) quickly flexed their muscles to put a damper on Salisbury’s Senior Night. Daryl Coleman and Chris Andrews each hit two 3-pointers in the opening quarter-a foreshadowing of what was to come-as Southern Lehigh closed the frame on a 15-2 run.

Coleman hit two more from long range in the second quarter as the Spartans grew their lead to 36-13 at halftime. Coleman finished with 16 points and Andrews added 14. The Spartans hit nine 3-pointers for the game.

“I think we might have needed some help [to make districts], but we had a shot coming in,” Weaver said. “We had a nice lead and started off 8-3. We started in a zone [defense], a little bit differently. They nailed some shots, and we just weren’t moving enough defensively.

“Coleman and Andrews are good shooters. I thought we needed to recognize shooters better. We practiced 2-3 zone yesterday to try something a little bit different.”

Salisbury committed three turnovers in the second quarter and four more in the third when the Spartans turned up their defensive pressure.

And while Coleman and Andrews were held in check in the second half, it was another streaky Spartan shooter that rose to the occasion in the third quarter. John Coyle scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including three 3-pointers, to help the Spartans take a 46-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We turned the ball over too much,” Weaver said. “We had too many turnovers. Even when we didn’t turn the ball over, there were too many rushed shots.”

A number of Falcons that will return next year had strong fourth quarters when Salisbury scored 20 points. Junior Joe Panariello scored 10 points in the final eight minutes, and junior Patrick Foley added five in the frame.

Those two, along with sophomores Quintin Stephens and Quinn Warmkessel, will be key building blocks for Weaver next winter.

“We played a lot of young guys this year, and hopefully it pays some dividends moving forward,” Weaver said. “We are starting two sophomores. Foley came on in the second half of the season. There is potential here.”

Panariello led the Falcons with 13 points, while Frankenfield added eight.

SOUTHERN LEHIGH

Trevis 0-0-0-0, Welsh 0-0-0-0, Schmidt 1-0-0-2, Coleman 6-0-0-16, Andrews 4-4-4-14, Wentling 0-0-0-0, Gaughan 0-0-0-0, Coyle 5-0-0-13, Bodner 0-0-0-0, Hoff 5-0-0-10, McKee 0-0-0-0, Tankred 2-0-0-4, Sanders 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-4-4-63.

SALISBURY

Foley 1-2-4-5, Cornish 0-0-0-0, Sylvester 3-0-0-6, Stephens 1-0-0-2, Zeng 0-0-0-0, Herrera 0-0-0-0, Frankenfield 4-0-0-8, Warmkessel 1-1-2-3, Snyder 3-0-0-6, Greenholt 0-0-0-0, Panariello 5-2-3-13. TOTALS: 18-5-9-43.

So. Lehigh 18 18 10 17 - 63

Salisbury 10 3 11 19 - 43

Three-pointers: S - Foley, Panariello; SL - Coleman 4, Coyle 3, Andrews 2.