Salamanca's Jacob Herrick, far right, celebrates after the Warriors' dramatic, come-from-behind 60-58 victory over Falconer in Saturday' night's Section VI Class B2 quarterfinal basketball game at Salamanca High School. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

SALAMANCA — History was about to repeat itself, or so it seemed.

Three weeks after Falconer traveled to Cattaraugus County and knocked off Salamanca, the Golden Falcons were on the verge of making it two straight wins Saturday night against the Warriors.

On the road again, no less.

And then?

Up by 18 points with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the Section VI Class B2 quarterfinal before a full house at the Salamanca High School gym, No. 9 Falconer saw its poise and its lead evaporate down the stretch, allowing the top-seeded Warriors to escape with a stunning 60-58 come-from-behind victory.

Salamanca's Avery Brown (20) blocks a shot attempt by Falconer's Roger Markham during the first half. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“With everything on the line, it being a playoff situation and with the quality of coaching they have and the quality of players, I’ve never been part of a game like that,” Salamanca head coach Adam Bennett said. ” … We needed to be perfect in that last seven minutes and, thankfully, we were.”

The win advances the Warriors (18-3) into the semifinals against No. 4 Wilson at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Buffalo State Sports Arena. The Lakemen won their quarterfinal 59-40 Saturday over No. 12 Roy-Hart. Meanwhile, the Golden Falcons, who used a 41-14 run spanning the second and third quarters to build their seemingly insurmountable advantage, end their season 10-12.

“It just snowballed,” Falconer head coach Jordan Goold said.

Salamanca’s rally started innocently enough.

After Falconer’s Max Parmentier’s layup on a pass from Roger Markham gave the Golden Falcons a 54-36 lead with 7:15 left, no one could have imagined that the visitors wouldn’t score again until Nathan Bailey’s acrobatic layup 41/2 minutes later.

Falconer's Roger Markham lays in two of his 19 points. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

No worries, though, right?

After all, the Warriors still trailed 56-47 at the 2:50 mark.

But someone forgot to notify them of that fact.

“You lean on your experience in those moments,” Bennett said.

In the span of 90 seconds, Avery Brown, Maddox Isaac and Jacob Herrick drilled 3-pointers, the latter pulling Salamanca to within 58-56 with 1:34 left. Less than 30 seconds later, Isaac tied it with a two-point field goal and, after a Golden Falcons’ missed 3-pointer, the Warriors grabbed the rebound and called a timeout.

Falconer's Max Parmentier shoots over Salamanca's Cory Holleran during the first half. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Needing a bucket to take the lead for the first time since late in the first half, Brown drilled a mid-range jumper with 25 seconds remaining to put Salamanca in front 60-58. Falconer still had plenty of time to tie or take the lead, but it eventually turned the ball over on a held possession with 3.6 seconds remaining. Herrick was fouled a second later and, although he missed both free throws, Roger Markham’s heave from beyond half court was no good and the Warriors’ remarkable comeback was complete.

“You have to be able to win in different ways to go where you want to go,” Bennett said. “I don’t know if anyone would classify us as a great outside shooting team, but we were when we had to be.”

Until the wild fourth quarter — the Golden Falcons were guilty of eight turnovers and outscored 24-6 — they were at times dominant. Trailing 22-11 four minutes before halftime, they outscored Salamanca 18-0 the rest of the period, thanks to 9 points from Roger Markham and a 3-pointer at the horn by Nathan Bailey.

After the break, it was more of the same as Falconer drilled five 3-pointers in the third quarter, including three in a row by Channing Brainard, to extend its lead to 52-36. And when Parmentier scored a layup in the first minute of the final period, it appeared as if the Golden Falcons were headed to Buffalo State for the second straight season.

“We felt like they took us out of our identity in the second and third quarters,” Bennett said. “We just said, ‘Guys, if we’re going to go down, we’re going to do it with the way we love to play. We’re going to fly around, press and trap.’ These guys feed on that. I never got a sense on the bench, because of their experience, that they were out of it.”

Falconer head coach Jordan Goold yells instructions to his players during the second half. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

As it turned out, the Warriors weren’t.

“They really ramped it up for about four minutes,” Goold said. ” … There was kind of a breaking point when it was down to two (points). We were up two and it felt like we were down two. Just a lot of stuff compounding the wrong way.”

NOTES: Brown led Salamanca with 20 points, Herrick had 13 and Isaac added 10. … For Falconer, Roger Markham led the way with 19 points, and Bailey and Zach Markham chipped in 10 apiece. … The Warriors were guilty of 18 turnovers, including seven in the second quarter. … The Golden Falcons turned the ball over 16 times, but eight came in the decisive final period.

FALCONER (58)

Delaney 2 2 6, RMarkahm 8 1 19, Carlson 0 0 0, Parmentier 1 0 2, Brainard 3 0 9, Bailey 4 0 10, Wood 1 0 2, ZMarkham 3 2 10, Totals 22 5 58.

Salamanca head coach Adam Bennett, right, shakes hands with assistant coach Pete Weishan after the Warriors' win. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

SALAMANCA (60)

Herrick 5 1 13, Bradley 0 0 0, Hill 1 0 3, Isaac 3 3 10, Drug 0 0 0, Crouse 3 0 7, Brown 8 3 20, Holleran 3 0 7, Farmer 0 0 0, Totals 23 7 60.

3-point goals — RMarkham 2, Brainard 3, Bailey 2, ZMarkham 2, Herrick 2, Hill, Isaac, Crouse, Brown, Holleran.

Falconer 11 18 23 6 — 58

Salamanca 11 11 14 24 — 60