11/3/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Basketball has finally arrived, and the Lackawanna College Falcons are eager to get out and get their 2022-2023 campaign underway.
 
The Falcons travel to CCBC Catonsville to take on the Cardinals for their season opener on Thursday, November 3^rd. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm ET inside the Jack Manley Wellness and Athletics Center on campus in Catonsville. The game is the second of a scheduled doubleheader, with the women's squads playing first at 5:00pm ET. Both games will be livestreamed via the CCBC Catonsville Athletics YouTube channel, HERE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College went 8-17 last season, playing an up-and-down year where several of their losses came in games where the Falcons held a second half lead but couldn't keep it. Lackawanna College lost a lot of its firepower from last year, with its top five scorers all moving on, but the Falcons do return Nashawn Johnson (Bronx, NY), one of the Falcons best players down the stretch last season, and an All-Region XIX selection the year before that, helping the Falcons to a Region XIX championship, their first since 2012.
 
Last year, an injury kept Johnson from being 100% in the early parts of last season, but his numbers jumped as the season progressed, to where he was averaging 13.8 points per game in his last six games, scoring in double-figures on four different occasions, including his season-high of 25 points vs. SUNY Sullivan. Against Catonsville last year, Johnson battled foul trouble and was held scoreless in 18 minutes of play.
 
Another returner is guard Brandon Scott (Cheltenham, PA), a quick, athletic guard with great jumping ability and a strong defensive work ethic. Scott primarily came off the bench last season for the Falcons, starting a handful of games in the middle of the year for the Falcons. Scott averaged six points per game and scored in double-figures three times, including a season-high 16 points on the road at Harcum College.
 
Also back is Kameron Bannister (Woodbridge, VA), a lanky guard/forward who can be a hard-nosed defender. Bannister has only played sparingly in his career as a Falcon, but is ready to step up and be a key contributor to the Lackawanna College squad in the '22-'23 campaign.
 
While he was technically on the team last season, Rahmad Ali (Newark, NJ) had to spend all of it watching on the sidelines while recovering from a major injury. Now, a year later, Ali says he's "110%" healed, and ready to provide what could be that extra spark for the Falcons this year.
 
Some of the newer faces expected to make immediate contributions include: Nasir Brown (Wilmington, DE), a fiery point guard who transferred in from Lincoln University; Caleb and Malek Mims (Bethlehem, PA), twin guards from the Lehigh Valley with lightning quick speed and a ton of potential; Joey Chapman (Reading, PA), an impressive guard who can pile up points in a hurry, and helped the Reading Red Knights to a PIAA Class 6A state championship a few seasons ago; Julian Wilson (Williamsport, PA), a massive 6-8 center who came from the Falcon football team, but who also won a PIAA championship; and Aamir Mack (Atlantic City, NJ), a 6-5 forward with shooting ability.
 
In his third season in charge, Landon Gabriel returns to the sidelines to lead the Falcons. Gabriel, who spent ten seasons coaching at Carbondale Area HS in the rough and tumble Lackawanna League, feels like this can be a season of positive momentum for the Falcons, where, now with his first true recruiting class, he can really implement the high-tempo defense and energy he wants to see from his squad. Gabriel is a King's College graduate, where he played for the Monarchs, after graduating from Carbondale Area HS before that.
 
About The Opponents
The Cardinals (0-1) have gotten their season up and running, dropping their season opener back on November 1^st to Harcum College, 104-67. Harcum put five players in double-figures and shot 53% from the field, while the Cardinals struggled, hitting just 35% from the field and going 4-for-21 from beyond-the-arc. Catonsville had three players in double-figures, led by Maurice Smith, who scored 14 points on 7-for-15 shooting. Carlos Green came off the bench to score 13, and Jalen Yates had 12 for the Cardinals.
 
Smith was the second leading scorer last year for the Cards, averaging 14.3 points per game. He averaged 50% from the field, and was the team-leader at 38.5% from downtown. Smith played most of his games in the second half of the year, going for double-figures seven times in his nine games. Smith scored 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting in a win at Lackawanna College.
 
Third-leading scorer Christopher Johnson is also back for the Cards. Johnson averaged 13.2 points per game, and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per contest. Johnson shot 51% from the field, and was also 36% from downtown. Johnson scored in double-figures 13 times last year, including a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Lackawanna College.
 
Keith Bullock Jr. also returns to the squad to run the point. Bullock averaged 11.6 points per game last year, hitting 48% of his shots on the year. Bullock led the team with 4.4 assists per game last season, and averaged just over three rebounds per contest. Bullock went for double-figures 15 times last season, and he went for 15 points, four assists, and three steals in the win over Lackawanna last season.
 
Jalen Yates is also back this season, after averaging an even ten points per game last year. Yates shot 34% from downtown last season, and hit double-figures 12 times last year, including a season-high 29 points against Harford. In his road appearance against Lackawanna College, he had 13 points and hit four three-pointers to knock off the Falcons.
 
New to the squad this year is Carlos Green, who scored 13 points off the bench in the loss to Harcum this week. Green is a 5-10 guard from Pikesville, MD.
 
The head coach for CCBC Catonsville is Greate White, who is entering his eighth year as the head coach, and seventh full-season at the helm, after sitting out spring 2021. White started with Catonsville as an assistant under former coach Randy Gregory during the 2014-2015 season, then took over the next year. White led the Cardinals to a 20-win season in just his second year in charge, getting them into the Region XX tournament. He's won 52 games in his time at Catonsville, and has been a fixture on the basketball circuit in Baltimore for a number of years. White, a standout HS football player and native of Baltimore, went to school at CCBC Dundalk, where he switched to basketball and helped take the Lions to the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Championship in 2000. White graduated Dundalk and left for LeMoyne Owen College, where he continued to excel on the basketball court. He'd soon return to Baltimore, and immediately started making in-roads in Baltimore's basketball landscape.
 
The Match-Up
The game against CCBC Catonsville is scheduled for a 7:00pm ET tip-off, and is the second game of a doubleheader, with the women's teams competing first at 5:00pm. Both games will be streamed live on the CCBC Catonsville Athletics YouTube Channel, which you can access HERE.
 
The next game for the Falcons will be on Saturday, November 5^th, when Lackawanna takes on CCBC Dundalk in their Dundalk 2022 Mixer. The tip-off with the Lions is scheduled for 6:00pm ET.