Landon Pasqual's basketball game on Saturday started out like any other Wareham Junior Basketball Association game, but he was in for a good surprise at halftime.

The 9-year-old's father, who has been in Afghanistan for the last seven months, snuck up behind Landon and Landon's 6-year-old sister, Miranda Solomon at halftime to say hello.

"I didn't think it was you when someone whispered in my ear," Miranda said. She said when she realized it was her dad, "I thought I was going to cry."

Sgt. Damon Solomon, of Plymouth, returned from his fourth tour overseas last Sunday. He served with the 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment in the U.S. Army. Solomon said he enlisted in 1998 and was first deployed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

He said because he was unsure of the exact day he would be coming home and the availability of the kids he wanted to wait and surprise them with his arrival, but it was tough to wait an entire week.

"I threw out the idea of having it at the school during the game, make it a little special for the kids," said Christina Pasqual, Landon and Miranda's mother.

She contacted Joel Watters, president of the Wareham JBA and together they set up the surprise.

Pasqual said right now it's unclear if Solomon would return to Afghanistan, but at the moment he isn't scheduled for another deployment.

Sitting it the stands with her father, Miranda said she was excited to have him home, and that it was a really good surprise.

"I didn't know it was you, not even a little bit," she said.