The Salisbury boys basketball team has a number of arrows in its quiver that it can use to beat teams.

Facing a tough West Philadelphia High School team on its home court, the Falcons came grabbed a first-round victory in the PIAA Class 4A playoffs last Friday.

Steven Lozada dropped in 25 points in a 54-45 win that came down to the final quarter.

“We played with a lot of composure, worked for good shots and made 10 three-pointers,” said Salisbury head coach Jason Weaver. “Steven was dominant with 25 points and nine rebounds. We handled their pressure really well and did not panic. A great win for a great bunch of kids who love playing with and for each other. I’m so proud of their effort and teamwork.”

Tied after three quarters, Salisbury took a six-point lead in the first quarter. West Philly erased most of it and trailed 23-22 at the half before making up the one-point deficit in the third quarter to tie the game as 34-34.

Salisbury used four three-pointers in the opening quarter to build an 18-12 lead as Lozada, Bryan Gonzalez, Drew Petrie, and Julian Makhoul all sank threes to help open the lead.

West Philadelphia’s Isaiah Smith repeated his first quarter performance of seven points in the second quarter and the Speedboys’ defense held Salisbury to just five points, three of which came on Petrie’s second three-pointer of the night.

The Falcons managed to shut down Smith in the fourth quarter, but teammate Xavier Howard, who had eight points over the first three quarters, got on track in the fourth with 10 points.

Lozada scored 11 of his game-high 25 points over the final eight minutes, including going 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. Garrett Leiner and Gonzalez both hit from beyond the arc to help Salisbury’s fourth quarter effort. Salisbury won the battle for three-pointers 10-7.

Free throws also played a role in the outcome down the stretch as the Falcons went 8-for-14 from the line and West Philly went 4-for-8.

The win advanced the Falcons into the second round of the PIAA tournament against Scranton Prep, a perennial participant in the 4A classification at states.