It’s clear how much Quinn Warmkessel means to the Salisbury boys basketball team. Despite missing half of the Falcons’ games in the recent Bash at the Beach tournament, Warmkessel was named Most Valuable Player of the small school division as Salisbury won the title.

He’s also been making that same impact all summer in the Cedar Beach Summer League. Last Thursday he played another big role as the Falcons defeated Saucon Valley, 45-38, at Allen High School.

“It’s been pretty good,” Warmkessel said. “Our team chemistry has been getting a lot better obviously since we are younger. Our team next year should be better than last year’s team. Us all mixing together and playing games is a good thing for us.”

Warmkessel, a rising junior, was one of two Falcons that started pretty much every game last winter for head coach Jason Weaver. Incoming junior Quintin Stephens was the other and has been having a successful summer, too.

The duo, while they didn’t start against the Panthers, did help Salisbury overcome an early deficit. Once down 3-0, a bucket from Warmkessel on the block gave Salisbury its first lead at 7-5. A few minutes later he scored in the post, and Stephens followed it up with a euro step layup in transition to give the Falcons their largest lead of the half at 18-12.

Much like was seen throughout the Stellar tournament, Warmkessel’s energy and effort was one of the differences once he entered the game.

“I like to bring energy and get the guys hyped up.” Warmkessel said. “If we are more energized we play better.”

He’s also enthused about being one of the leaders in the winter to try and put behind a dismal 2018 season that saw Salisbury finish with an 8-14 record and fail to make the postseason.

“It’s great to be honest,” Warmkessel. “I just feel like I’m very important to the program.”

Trey Weber, a rising senior, helped the Falcons pull away in the second half after Saucon Valley pulled in front with a 23-22 lead. A three-pointer from Weber was a big part of a 10-0 Salisbury spurt that but the Falcons in front 32-23. Warmkessel finished the run with a driving layup to the basket.

Moments later, Weber recorded a rebound and put back to give Salisbury its first double-digit lead at 36-25. The Panthers got within 40-36, but the Falcons closed the game on a 5-2 spurt.

Warmkessel has spent his summer playing both basketball and baseball, which included legion baseball and tournament travel baseball. The past few months have been extremely busy, especially when the weekends come around. He’s been to roughly a quarter to half of the basketball games and most of his baseball games.

Still, despite the heavy workload, he’s managed to find the time to be a leader in both sports all summer.