1/11/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Men's Basketball team gets back to work on Tuesday, January 11^th, when the Falcons travel to Bryn Mawr, PA to take on the NJCAA DI #8 team in the land, the Harcum College Bears, in a big Region XIX match-up. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm ET, and the game will be livestreamed on the Harcum Athletics YouTube Channel.  
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (4-6) were short-handed in their last contest, missing four key rotation players, including three starters, and struggled to keep pace with the DII #15 Cecil College Seahawks, dropping a 90-53 decision on the road in the first game of 2022. Lackawanna College shot 31% for the game, and were 21% from beyond the arc, while Cecil dominated points in the paint (54-to-28) and outrebounded the Falcons by a 53-to-38 margin. Lackawanna College was within striking distance at the midway point of the first half, down 24-22 with 8:45 to go, but the Seahawks used a 20-7 run to close the half, and then blew the game open with a 10-0 run to start the second half. Lackawanna College was led by David Pope, who scored a team-best 16 points and hit four three-point shots, while Will Johnson added 15, his fifth straight game in double-figures.  
 
Jaylen Davis is the team-leader in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game so far this year, along with 9.3 rebounds per game, also first on the team. "JD" has scored in double-figures in eight of nine games this year, going over 20+ points three times, and scoring a season-high 25 points against PSU-Hazleton on opening night. Davis's 16 rebounds against Morris was a season-high, giving him his third double-double of the season. Davis is shooting 54.3% from the field on the year, and averages 1.8 assists per game, along with 1.6 blocks per game this year.
 
Will Johnson has emerged as the second-leading scorer this year, averaging 10.7 points per game. Johnson has scored in double-figures in his last five games, including back-to-back games of 20+ points. He had a season-high 21 against Raritan Valley in December, then followed it up with 20 points, on 6-for-11 shooting against Ulster on December 11^th. Johnson leads the Falcons with 3.6 assists per game this season, and is the team-leader in steals with eight takeaways this year. Daryl Coleman is third on the team in scoring, with 9.3 points per game this season. Coleman is also averaging 5.8 rebounds per game, and is the team's best three-point threat, hitting a team-high 16 threes this year. Coleman has scored in double-figures four times this season, including a season-high 20 points against Mercer County CC. Coleman put up ten points and six rebounds, along with three assists, against Morris last month, but was 0-for-6 from downtown.
 
David Pope is the fourth-leading scorer with 9.3 points per game this year. Pope is hitting around 40% of his shots this year, and is second on the team with 14 made three-pointers this year. Pope is among the Lackawanna leaders in FT% this year at 73%, and has scored in double-figures four times this year, including a season-high of 16 points three times (against Erie, Del Tech, and Cecil). Pope hit a season-high four three-pointers against Cecil, his first start of the season.
 
Ahmir Ellzy is fifth on the team with 8.8 points per game this season. Ellzy, an All-Region selection from last year, had 13 points and a season-high seven rebounds against Morris last month. Ellzy has hit double-figures four times this year, and leads the Falcons in steal with eight on the season. Ellzy is second on the team with 2.8 assists per game this season.
 
Magd Abdelwahab will also see time for the Falcons, averaging 7.6 points per game this year. Magd has hit double-figures three times this year, including his season-high 23 points against Niagara County CC earlier this season. Magd is hitting 37% of his shots this year, and is third on the team with 2.7 assists per game.
 
Gabe Springer is second on the Falcons with 8.1 rebounds per game, and is averaging just shy of six points per game (5.7), while also leading the team in blocks (18) this season. Gabe had a career-best 14-point, 19-rebound, 4-block performance against Erie earlier this year. Springer rejected six shots, a season-best, against Ulster, while pulling down 12 rebounds against the Senators. His 13-point performance against Morris was just the second time he scored in double-figures this year.  
 
Lackawanna College, averaging around 77 points per game as a team, is shooting at 41.1% as a team this season, and the Falcons are shooting 27.4% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting at 62.5% from the free-throw line. Lackawanna College holds a +7 rebounding margin, and has 55 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to 40.9% shooting so far this year, and teams have only hit 26.5% of their three-point attempts against the Lackawanna College defense, which has Lackawanna ranked 9^th in the NJCAA in 3PT% defense. Falcon opponents are scoring around 80 points per game this year. The Falcons are also in the top ten in the NJCAA in blocks per game, averaging 5.5 rejections per contest.
 
Coach Landon Gabriel is in 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
Harcum College comes into the contest boasting a 16-1 record, and a #8 ranking in the latest NJCAA Division I polls. The Bears had won 11 straight games to start the year, before dropping a home game against Eastern Florida State back on December 10^th. They've since rattled off five in a row, including their latest, which was a 91-64 win on the road at ASA Brooklyn. In that game, Harcum had five players in double-figures, and the Bears shot 44%, racing to an early 12-point lead at the break, and then lengthening that lead as the second half wore on. Louis Bleechmore had a team-high 17 points, while Tre Dinkins added 16 points and five assists, and Jordan Martin scored 14 points. Mohamed Wague had seven points, 12 rebounds, eight steals, and six blocks for the Bears.
 
Harcum is averaging 90.6 points per game, scoring over 100 points three times this year, with a season-high 130 coming against CCBC Catonsville in the season-opener. The Bears are giving up 72.2 points per game on the year. Harcum is shooting an impressive 47% this season, while their opponents are hitting around 42% from the field on the year. The Bears average nearly nine three-point field goals per game, hitting around 32% on the season from deep. Harcum has out-rebounded their opponents by a +12 margin, and averages 12.1 steals per game, along with 5.9 blocks per game.   
 
The Bears are a well-rounded scoring machine, with six players averaging double-figures on the season. The aforementioned Tre Dinkins leads the team with 15 points per game this year. Dinkins is hitting 47% of his shots, and leads the team with 33 made three-point shots this year. Dinkins has scored in double-figures in 13 games this year, including his season-high 31 points against Howard CC, where he hit a season-high 12 shots on 12-for-15 shooting, including seven three-pointers. He's hit double-figures in points in his last four contests, and has scored over 20+ points five times on the year.
 
Yazid Powell is second on the team with 13.9 points per game, and has hit on 51% of his shots so far this year. Powell leads the team in assists at 5.1 per game, and is second on the team in rebounding, with 5.1 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in steals, averaging 2.7 per contest. Powell has hit double-figures in seven contests this year, with his season-high of 27 coming against Catonsville in the first game of the season. Powell has scored 20+ points three times this year. Powell had 11 points, with a season-high six steals, in his first game back in the lineup for Harcum against ASA Brooklyn. He had missed the previous seven contests. Powell had a season-high eight assists against Howard CC earlier this year.
 
Louis Bleechmore is third on the team with 13.1 points per game this year. Bleechmore is shooting nearly 50% from the field this year, and is the team leader in 3PT% (39.2%). Bleechmore averages 4.4 rebounds per game. Bleechmore has hit double-figures in twelve games this year, with a season-high 21 coming on three separate occasions. His game-high 17 points against ASA Brooklyn came courtesy of a season-high four three-point shots made. Bleechmore had a season-high eight rebounds earlier this year, against Cecil College.
 
Mohamed Wague is fourth on the team with 12.8 points per game, and is shooting a team-high 60% from the field. Wague is the main interior threat for the Bears, sucking up a team-high 12.6 rebounds per game, and rejecting a team-leading three shots per contest. Wague averages nearly eight offensive rebounds per game. He's hit double-figures ten times this year, three times over 20+ points, and his season-high was a 29-point performance against Allegany, where he went an efficient 11-for-13 from the field, and 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. Wague has nine double-doubles on the year, with his most impressive being his 18-point, 23-rebound performance against County College of Morris.
 
Derrius Ward and Jordan Martin are the other two players in double-figures this year, both averaging 10.3 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Ward is second on the team with 3.6 assists per game, and is also second with 2.0 steals per game. Ward has scored in double-figures in eight games this year, including a season-high 27 points against Brunswick, when he hit a season-best six three-pointers, while going 9-for-13 from the floor. Ward has one triple-double to his name this season, scoring 13 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing 11 assists in the win vs. Cape Fear earlier this year. He scored just six points on 3-for-12 shooting against ASA Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Martin is second on the team with 32 made three-point shots this year, and is third on the team at 3.1 assists per game. Martin hit double-figures in seven games this season, and has a pair of games where he's hit his season-high of 23 points, both coming back-to-back against Cape Fear and Brunswick in December. Martin hit a season-high six three-pointers in the win over Brunswick. His best rebounding output was eight boards against Essex County earlier this year.
 
The head coach for Harcum College is Drew Kelly, who has been in charge of the Bears program since it started in 2005. Kelly, now in his 17^th season at the helm, has a pair of national tournament appearances under his belt at the Division I level with Harcum, where he has established the Bears as a top-flight program that relies on heavy ball pressure and high octane scoring. Prior to last year's pandemic shortened season, Harcum had never won less than 20 games under the direction of Kelly. The Bears are 408-100 with coach Kelly at the helm, an .803 winning percentage. Kelly also serves as the Director of Athletics with the Bears. Kelly, a Villnova and TCNJ alum, has spent time as an assistant at Villanova (as a student), Haverford, and TCNJ, before taking over as Bucks County CC coach for two years. After a successful stint there, he was tapped to lead the Bears program as their first head coach.   
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 7:00pm tip-off at the Harcum College gymnasium on campus in Bryn Mawr, PA. The game will be streamed live by Harcum College, and you can watch by clicking HERE.
 
The next game for Lackawanna College will be on Thursday, January 13^th, when the Falcons play host to another nationally-ranked opponent, when SUNY Sullivan County comes to town. The game against the NJCAA DII #8 Generals will tip-off at 7:00pm ET from the Lackawanna Student Union in Scranton, PA. The game will be video livestreamed at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.