12/7/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Men's Basketball team will play the first of two straight home games on Tuesday, December 7^th, when they host the Raritan Valley Community College Lions at the Lackawanna Student Union. The game will tip at 7:00pm ET, and will be the second game of a doubleheader, with the women's game starting first at 5:00pm ET.  It's the first meeting of the year between two teams that faced each other four times last season, with the Falcons winning three of the four contests, including the final meeting, which decided the Region XIX championship. The Falcons won that game 83-75 at home to win a Region XIX title for the first time since 2012. 
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (3-3) fell in their last contest, dropping a 77-69 decision at Delaware Tech this past Saturday. Lackawanna College struggled from the field, hitting only 34% of their shots, and going 5-for-32 from deep against the Terry Hawks. Lackawanna College, despite the shooting woes, had an opportunity in the second half with the game tied at 57 in the latter stages, and only trailing by five with 90 seconds to play, but Delaware Tech hit free throws down the stretch (26-for-33 overall), while the Falcons struggled to stay out of foul trouble with 27 total team fouls. David Pope led the Falcons with 16 points off the bench, going 6-for-11 from the field. Jaylen Davis and Will Johnson each had 12 points apiece for Lackawanna College, which had 23 total turnovers for the game.    
 
Davis is the team-leader in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game so far this year, along with his team-leading 8.0 rebounds per game. "JD" has scored in double-figures in five of his six games this year, going over 20+ points twice, and scoring a season-high 25 points against PSU-Hazleton on opening night. Davis had a season-high 15 rebounds that night, as well, securing a double-double in his first game of the season.
 
David Pope is second on the team, averaging 10.5 points per game off the bench. Pope is hitting around 42% of his shots this year, and is second on the team with nine made three-pointers this year. Pope is the Falcons' best free throw shooter at 83% on the season. He's scored in double-figures three times this year, including a season-high of 16 points twice (against Erie and Del Tech).
 
Daryl Coleman is the third leading scorer at 10.2 points per game, while also averaging just a shade under six rebounds per game, good for third on the team. Coleman is the best three-point threat, having hit 14 threes on the season, and hitting around 40% from deep. Daryl has scored in double-figures three times this year, including a season-high 20 against Mercer County CC at home in November. He hit six threes in the win against the Vikings.
 
Gabe Springer is tied for the team-lead with Davis in rebounds at eight per game. Gabe is averaging around 5.5 points per game, and is the team leader in blocks with 11 through his first six games. Gabe had a career-best 14-point, 19-rebound, 4-block performance against Erie earlier this year. Will Johnson is the assist leader, averaging 4.0 assists per game so far this year, while scoring just over six points per game. Magd Abdelwahab is second in assists per game (3.5) and fourth on the team in scoring (8.3), also coming off the bench like Pope. Magd has hit double-figures twice this year, including a season-high 23 against Niagara. Ahmir Ellzy is fifth on the team at eight points per game so far this year. Ellzy has hit double-figureses twice, both times at 15 points against Erie and Essex.
 
Lackawanna College is shooting at 41.5% as a team in its first six games, and the Falcons are shooting 29.8% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting at 66% from the free-throw line. Lackawanna College holds a nearly +9 rebounding margin, and has 30 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to just 39.8% shooting so far this year, and teams have only hit 25.5% of their three-point attempts against the Lackawanna College defense, which has Lackawanna ranked 9^th in the NJCAA in 3PT% defense.
 
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.
 
About the Opponents
The Lions of Raritan Valley CC are 6-2 on the season, but have lost their last two contests, and have not played since November 23^rd. In that game, they lost a thriller at Delaware Tech, 105-101, in overtime. The Lions had double-figures from four different contributors, including a team-high 30 from Raheem Carter, but the Terry Hawks matched that, getting four players of their own in double-figures, including a game-high 36 from Syed Myles, who was 19-for-20 from the free throw line in the contest. So far, that's the only common opponent between Raritan Valley and Lackawanna College this year.
 
Raritan Valley is a high-powered offense, averaging 94.8 points per game this year, good for 12^th in the NJCAA Division II. The Lions have scored less than 90 points once all year, a 93-78 loss at Chesapeake College, which snapped their season-opening six-game win streak. They've done that while only averaging around 10.8 turnovers per game, tied for 15^th in the NJCAA. The Lions are hitting on 49.5% of their shots this year, which also puts them top-15 in the country. Raritan's defense is giving up around 84 points per game this year, but is holding opponents to just 25% on their three-point attempts, putting them top-20 in the country in 3PT% defense. Raritan has been outrebounded by a +3.4 rebound margin this year. The Lions force around 20 turnovers per game, ranking them 12^th in the NJCAA Division II.  
 
Raritan Valley has four players averaging double-figures, including two players over 20+ points per game. The team-leader is the aforementioned Carter, who is averaging 22.9 points per game on 56% shooting for the year. Carter has hit double-figures in all eight games for the Lions this year, and has scored over 20 points in six of those games. His season-high is the 30 points he scored against Delaware Tech, where he also hit a season-high five threes. Carter is also the team-leader in rebounds per game at 10.5, and has four double-doubles this year, including a season-high 18 rebounds at Chesapeake. Carter's 41% shooting from three is also a team-high.
 
Ahmad Robinson is the other player scoring over 20 per game, sitting at 20.9 so far this year. Robinson is hitting on 54% of his shots this year, and has a team-high six assists per game on the season, to go with his team-leading 2.8 steals per game. Robinson has also scored in double-figures in every game this year, and has scored over 20 points on five occasions. His best was a 27-point performance in the loss to Delaware Tech, where he hit ten field goals for the Lions. He came very close to a triple-double in that game, pulling down ten rebounds and dishing out nine assists, both season-highs.
 
Eddie Davis is third on the team at 18.1 points per game on 51% shooting. Davis is second on the team with 3.8 assists per game, and second to Robinson in steals per game at 2.3. Davis has scored in double-figures in every game this year, and has scored over 20 points in three games this season, including a season-high 24 points twice against Sullivan County and Northampton. Davis had 18 points in the last game against Delaware Tech.    
 
Dan Dextraze rounds out the double-digit scorers for Raritan Valley, at 12.3 points per game this year. Dextraze is second on the team at 7.1 rebounds per game, and is the team-leader in blocks per game at 2.5. Dextraze has scored in double-figures in five of the eight games this season, including a season-high of 19 points twice, against Sullivan County and County College of Morris. Dextraze has two double-doubles on the year, including a 13-rebound performance against Northampton, which is his season-high. Dextraze had a season-high six blocks earlier this year against Monroe Community College. He had just five points and five rebounds against Delaware Tech, a game in which he was in foul trouble through most of it, and fouled out of the contest.
 
The head coach for Raritan Valley is Kevin Ryan, now on his second stint with the Lions. Ryan took over the program in 2012, going 10-14 overall. That would be the last season in which the Lions did not make the Region XIX playoffs under Ryan. The next year, he went 20-7, capturing a GSAC championship, COTY aware, and finishing as runner-up in the Region XIX playoffs. Ryan would step away after the '17-'18 campaign, only to come back a year later, leading the Lions to the Region XIX championship game, where they'd finish as runners-up. He'd do it again a year later in the pandemic-shortened '20-'21 campaign, only to finish as runners-up again, this time against Lackawanna College. Ryan is in his ninth season at Raritan Valley, and is 126-82 in his tenure.   
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 7:00pm tip-off at the Lackawanna Student Union in Scranton, PA on Tuesday, December 7^th. The game is the second of a doubleheader, following the women's basketball contest between Lackawanna College and Raritan Valley CC beforehand.
 
Falcons fans are invited out to celebrate the Christmas season, as there will be giveaways, food, and pictures with LC Claus. Tickets for the game will be sold at the door, and are $5 (Adults) and $3 (Students). Lackawanna College students will be admitted for free with their student ID. For a reminder about the Lackawanna College spectator policy, please click HERE.
 
The game will be video livestreamed on the Lackawanna College YouTube Channel, for those who cannot attend. Steve Young will hand the play-by-play, while Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will provide the color commentary. You can see the stream HERE.