11/13/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Men's Basketball team gets back to work this weekend with a doubleheader up at Niagara County Community College for the Niagara County Tip-Off Classic on Saturday, November 13^th and Sunday November 14^th. The Falcons will play Erie Community College on Saturday at 5:00pm, followed by the hosts Niagara on Sunday at 3:00pm. Every game will be streamed live by Niagara County CC.
 
About The Falcons
The defending Region XIX champions are 1-0 on the year after a 72-61 win over the Penn State Hazleton Nittany Lions. Lackawanna College led wire-to-wire and hit on 41% of their shots, while holding Penn State Hazleton to just 31% from the field, including 16% from beyond-the-arc. Jaylen Davis led all scorers with 25 points and 15 rebounds, while going an efficient 9-for-14 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. "JD" also had four assists and two blocks. Daryl Coleman finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, including two blocks of his own and three made 3PT FGs. Magd Abdelwahab had five assists to go with a pair of three-pointers, and Ahmir Ellzy also added four assists of his own. In all, the Falcons had 22 assists, and got 21 points off the bench as eight different players scored for Lackawanna College.
 
The Falcons held Penn State Hazleton to 61 points, which was the lowest score for an opponent against Lackawanna College since Mercer County scored 61 in the Region XIX semi-final in 2019, a game Lackawanna College also won.
 
Coach Landon Gabriel enters his second season as the head coach for Lackawanna College. Coach Gabriel was hired in 2020 to lead the Falcons program, and rebuild them into a contender. Gabriel spent the previous eleven years coaching at his alma mater, Carbondale Area, where he helped the Chargers boys basketball team to numerous PIAA District II playoff appearances. Gabriel is a King's College graduate, where he played basketball for the Monarchs.
 
 
Erie Community College Kats
Erie comes into the contest at 3-1, having won their last three games. The Kats won their home opener on Wednesday night, 97-84 over Genesee Community College. It was a game where the Kats, after trailing 10-4, managed to grab an eleven-point lead at the break, thanks to a 52-point first half, and led by as many as 22 in the second half. Erie was dominant on the inside, outrebounding Genesee CC 52-to-38, and outscoring them 30-to-22 on points in the paint. The Kats had 27 assists to just eleven turnovers, and hit on 45% of their shots, including 15 three-pointers.
 
Erie had three players in double-figures against Genesee CC, getting 24 points apiece from Kelvin Reaves and Joshua Denis, and 22 points from Nathan Severson. Denis was an efficient 10-for-12 from the field, while Reaves was 10-for-20 and snagged eleven rebounds. Severson was 6-for-13 from beyond the arc, and had four assists and three steals.
 
Erie is averaging around 83 points per game this year, and have four players averaging double-figures. Denis leads the way with 17.3 points per game, and is hitting on 60.5% of his shots on the year. Denis has scored in double-figures in all four games for the Kats this year, including two games of 20+ points. Reaves is second on the team with 14.8 points per game, and is averaging just a shade under eight rebounds per game. After a sluggish first two games, he's scored 21 and 24 points, respectively, in his last two games, while also grabbing twelve and eleven rebounds, respectively.
 
Justin Morety comes off the bench and averages 12.3 points per game, hitting on 57% of his shots and at a 64% clip from beyond the arc. Morety has hit double-figures twice, and had a season-high 17 against Corning CC earlier this year. Severson is fourth on the team with 12.0 points per game, and leads the team with two steals per game. Severson has hit double-figures three times this year.
 
Opponents are scoring around 77 points per game against Erie and hitting around 44% from the field, but the Kats have 4.5 blocks per game as a team, while outrebound their opponents by a nearly +12 margin.
 
Alex Nwora is the head coach at Erie Community College. Nwora is in his 22^nd season at the helm, and has won 424 games as the head coach at Erie. In his time at ECC, Nwora has won eight Region III titles, including three in row from 2018 through 2020. Nwora has been named Region III COTY six times in his career, and been to numerous NJCAA Division II tournaments, finishing as high as fourth on two separate occasions. Nwora is a household name in international basketball, particularly in the African basketball community. He is the head coach of the Nigerian Men's national team, and has also spent time with Cape Verde as well. A Daemen College Hall-of-Famer, Nwora got his start as an assistant at Medaille College in the mid-90's, before taking the job with Erie.
 
Niagara County Community College Thunder Wolves
Niagara County, the #13 team in the NJCAA Division II polls, enters the weekend at 1-1 splitting a 30-point win over Corning CC with a narrow loss at Lakeland CC this past Wednesday. Niagara will take on Howard CC on Saturday night at 7:00pm before their Sunday afternoon clash with Lackawanna College.
 
Against the Lakers, Niagara had a miserable shooting night, hitting on just 39% of their shots, and only 4-for-15 from three-point range. The Lakers hit on 68% of their shots, but the Thunder Wolves had 15 steals to keep stealing back possessions. Lakeland outrebounded Niagara 36-to-28, and had nine blocks in the game. The Thunder Wolves had three players in double-figures, with Aaron Miller leading the charge with 11 points and eight rebounds. Lamar Lovelace and Justin Hendrick each had ten points, while Allen Fordham and Taylor Sanders each posted nine points for Niagara.
 
Niagara County is averaging 84.5 points per game, and is hitting on 48% of their shots in their first two games. Their opponents are scoring around 73 points per game, and hitting just shy of 55% on their shot attempts. Fordham is the leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, averaging just over 2.5 three-pointers per game, and hitting on 62.5% of his three-point shots this year. Fordham also averages two steals per game. Miller is second on the team with 11.5 points per game, and is hitting on 60% of his shots this season. Miller also leads the team with six rebounds per contest, and is tied for the team-lead at 2.5 assists per game. Lamar Lovelace is third on the team with 9.5 points per game, and is averaging two assists per game this year.  The Thunder Wolves are averaging 12.5 steals per game in their first two contests.
 
The head coach is Bill Beilein, who is entering his 13^th season in charge of the Thunder Wolves. Beilein is a four-time coach of the year in Region III, and his teams have won two Region III championships, including last year, when they won the region and then defeated the Falcons in the district semi-finals before falling in the East District championship game. Beilein has 238 wins in his career, and came to NCCC after he was an assistant at Medaille College. Beilein is the nephew of famous basketball coach John Beilein.
 
Both contests will be streamed live by Niagara County Community College. You can watch and follow along HERE.