1/19/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Men's Basketball team will look to end a five-game skid when they travel to West Windsor Twp., NJ on Wednesday night to take on the Vikings of Mercer County CC. The game is set for a 7:00pm ET start, and will be the second game of a doubleheader, with the women's teams tipping first at 5:00pm ET. Spectators are NOT permitted, but the game will be video streamed live on the Mercer County CC athletics website HERE. This is the second meeting between the Vikings and Falcons, with the first game happening back in November, a game the Falcons won 79-51. You can read the recap from that match-up HERE.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (4-9) played a tight game against the CCBC Catonsville Cardinals this past Saturday, trading the lead back-and-forth before the Cardinals pulled away, 82-73. The Falcons had the game within a point with under three minutes to play, but couldn't find the shot to get them over the hump, allowing CCBC Catonsville to go eight-for-ten from the free throw line down the stretch, while also forcing crucial turnovers at big moments. Lackawanna College had four players in double-figures, led by Magd Abdelwahab's 20 points off the bench, 15 coming in the second half, while Will Johnson scored 19 points, and Ky'Ron Harbin added a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds in his first start of the season. The Falcons shot 38% for the game, but were 6-for-30 from downtown, and had 23 turnovers as a team.
 
Jaylen Davis, who has missed the last four games for Lackawanna College, 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 is the second-leading scorer this year, averaging 11.5 points per game. Johnson has scored in double-figures in his last eight 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 3.5 assists per game this season, and is the team-leader in steals with 11 takeaways this year. Johnson is tied for the team-lead with David Pope in free throw shooting, hitting 80% of his attempts this year.
 
Pope is third on the team with 10.8 points per game on the year. Pope, who has started for the Falcons in his last four games, is hitting around 41% of his shots this year, and leads the Falcons with 19 made three-pointers. Pope is tied with Will Johnson for the team-lead, shooting 80% from the free throw line, and has scored in double-figures seven times this year, including his season-high 19 points twice now, against Harcum and SUNY Sullivan. Pope hit a season-high four three-pointers against Cecil, his first start of the season. In his last four games, all starts, Pope is averaging 16 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, and shooting 42% from the field, while knocking down nine three-pointers.
 
Daryl Coleman, who has missed the last four games for the Falcons, is fourth 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 second-best three-point threat, hitting 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.
 
Ahmir Ellzy is fifth on the team with 8.2 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. Ellzy returned to action against Catonsville for the first time in three games, scoring three points and pulling down three rebounds off the bench.
 
Magd Abdelwahab will also see time for the Falcons, averaging 8.2 points per game this year. Magd has hit double-figures four 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 2.6 assists per game. Magd scored 21 points against Catonsville, including 15 in the second half. At one point, Magd scored 10 straight points for the Falcons to get them back into the game.
 
Gabe Springer is second on the Falcons with 7.7 rebounds per game, and is averaging 5.1 points per game, while also leading the team in blocks (19) 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. Gabe returned to action against Catonsville after missing the first three games of 2022, coming off the bench in the second half and pulling down four boards.
 
Lackawanna College, averaging around 75.5 points per game as a team, is shooting at 39.8% as a team this season, and is shooting 26.7% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting 66% from the free-throw line. Lackawanna College holds a +5 rebounding margin, and has 61 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to 44.0% shooting so far this year, and teams have hit 31.7% of their three-point attempts against the Lackawanna College defense. Prior to the games against Harcum and SUNY Sullivan, the Falcons were ranked 9^th in the NJCAA in 3PT% defense. Falcon opponents are scoring around 86 points per game this year.
 
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
The Vikings come into the contest with a 1-13 overall record, having lost their last eight games. Their last win came against Essex County College on November 16^th, when the Vikings won 66-57. In their last contest, the Vikings fell to the Atlantic Cape CC Buccaneers, 72-65 last Thursday. The Vikings fell behind by 16 at the break, and were able to mount a comeback in the second half, but couldn't quite close the gap and secure their second win. The Bucs shot 46% from the field against the Viking defense.  
 
Mercer County CC is averaging around 54 points per game, while opponents are scoring nearly 78 per game against them. Mercer has struggled from the field, hitting around 37% as a team, and just 32% from beyond-the-arc, while opponents have hit 49% of their shots against the Vikings, and have hit around 38% from downtown. The Vikings have a -12 rebounding margin, and average over 18 turnovers per game.
 
The Vikings are led by Nyzhir Brown, who averages 13.4 points per game this year. Brown shoots a team-high 42% from the field, and is 42% from downtown this season. Prior to the game against Atlantic Cape, Brown had hit double-figures in 12 of 13 appearances, including his season-high of 23 points against Essex County, where he knocked down a season-best eight shots, and six three-pointers. It was the only time this year that Brown had crossed the 20-point mark. Brown's season high of six rebounds was hit twice this year. Brown had 13 points and 2 rebounds in the loss to Lackawanna earlier this season.
 
Gavin Shiver is second on the team with 6.6 points per game. Shiver is second on the team at 32% from downtown, and is hitting around 37% of his shots this season. Shiver has hit double-figures twice this season, both coming in his last four games, prior to the Atlantic Cape contest. His season-high is 13 points, coming against Cecil College, where he went 5-for-7 from the field. Shiver had 12 points and a season-high 8 rebounds against CCBC Catonsville back in December. He had eight points and hit a pair of threes in the loss to Lackawanna earlier this year.
 
Donovan Ryland is third on the team at 6.2 points per game this year. Ryland is shooting around 29% on the season, and had started his last ten games prior to the Atlantic Cape game. He's hit double-figures on three separate occasions, including his season-high 16 points against Roxbury, where he knocked down six shots, and a season-high four three-pointers. He pulled down a season-high eight rebounds against Raritan Valley. He had just four points and two rebounds, but did dish out five assists in the loss to Lackawanna.
 
Nymere Whittaker, scoring 5.8 points per game, is the team-leader in rebounds per game at 5.8 per contest. Whittaker is also third on the team at 2.4 assists per game, and leads the team in steals at 1.5 per game. He has two double-doubles on the year, including a 13-point, 12-rebound game against Roxbury, and a 10-point, 11 rebound game against Essex. He's hit double-figures in only those two games, prior to the Atlantic Cape game. Whittaker did not play against Lackawanna College.
 
Isaiah Rice is averaging 5.7 points per game, and a team-high 3.8 assists per game. Rice also leads the team in free throw shooting, hitting 88% of his attempts. Rice has scored in double-figures twice this season, 13 points apiece against both Essex and Niagara County. He also snagged a season-high seven rebounds against Niagara County. He had seven points and four rebounds against Lackawanna College.  
 
The head coach for the Vikings is Howard Levy, who enters his 13^th season as the head coach. Mercer did not participate in the pandemic shortened season last year, so while this is technically his 14^th year at Mercer, it's only his 13^th season. Levy has a 160-196 record in his career, and has led Mercer to four seasons of 19 wins or better, including a 23-4 record in 2014-2015. That year, the Vikings made it to the Region XIX championship game before falling to Essex in the final. Mercer did win the GSAC championship that season. Levy has a Region XIX championship to his name (09-10), and took the Vikings to the NJCAA DII tournament that year. Levy, a Princeton graduate, played under legendary coach Pete Carril in the 80's, before he went on to play for Team USA in the Maccabiah Games in 1985. Levy played professionally in the CBA and in Australia, and has spent time on the bench as an assistant at George Washington, and then at Princeton for eleven seasons as a volunteer assistant.
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 5:00pm tip-off at the Physical Education building on the campus of Mercer County CC, and is the second game of a doubleheader with the Lackawanna College women's team. The game is NOT open to spectators, per the Mercer County CC Athletics website.
 
The game will be video livestreamed via the Mercer County CC Athletics website HERE.
 
The next game for the Falcons will be a home contest against the Delaware Tech CC Terry Hawks on Saturday, January 22^nd, at the Lackawanna Student Union in Scranton, PA. It will be the second game of a doubleheader with the women's teams, and will tip at 2:00pm ET.