12/2/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – For the first time in the 2022-2023 season, the Lackawanna College men's basketball squad will hit the road in Region XIX play, when they travel to West Windsor Twp, NJ to take on Mercer County CC on Saturday, December 3^rd.
 
The game is set for a 12:00pm ET tip-off inside the Mercer County CC gymnasium in their on-campus fitness center. There will be a video livestream available via the Mercer County CC Athletics Vimeo channel, linked HERE.  
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (5-2, 1-1) grabbed its first win in Region XIX play this past Tuesday, when the Falcons defeated the defending Region XIX champions, Delaware Tech CC, in a 77-68 victory inside the Lackawanna Student Union gymnasium. The Falcons used a strong first half to build a double-digit lead, and then held on from the hard-charging Terry Hawks to grab the win. Four players hit double-figures in scoring, led by Nasir Brown's 22 points, and the Falcons hit seven threes, all in the first half, and held a +20 rebounding advantage in the victory. Read more about it HERE.
 
The Falcons are averaging 77.9 points per game this season, allowing 74.7 points per game on the year. The 98 that Essex scored was the most the Falcons have allowed in their first six games, and they've given up 90+ points in two of their last four games. The Falcons are shooting 43.4% from the field, but have struggled from deep, hitting just 27%. Lackawanna gets to the free throw line a lot, having made almost as many free throws as a team (118) as their opponents have attempted this year (133). Lackawanna is shooting 62% from the free throw line. The Falcons average 40 rebounds per game, with a +2.4 margin, and they have forced an average of 18.6 turnovers per game, with just over nine steals per contest for the Falcon defense. Opponents are shooting 40% from the field this season, and have hit 30% of their three-point attempts.  
 
Nasir Brown (Wilmington, DE) leads the Falcons in scoring at 19.1 points per game on the season. He's second on the team in rebounding (5.3) and leads the team in 3PT FGs made (11). Brown is tops on the team in FT% (73%). Brown is second on the team with 12 steals this season. He's hit double-figures in six of the first seven games, and has gone over 20 points in three straight games. His season-high of 25 points came against Essex two weeks ago. Brown hit a season-high ten shots from the field, and had four steals, tying a season-high. Against Del Tech, he had a team-high 22 points, was 5-for-8 from the free throw line, and had seven rebounds in the win over the Terry Hawks.  
 
Malek Mims (Bethlehem, PA) is second on the team with 12.3 points per game this season. Mims leads the Falcons in steals (17), and averages 3.9 rebounds per game from his point guard spot. Mims has hit on 42.7% of his shots this season, and is second on the team in assists (20) this year. Mims has scored in double-figures five times this season, going for his season-best 20 points against Dundalk. In that game, he went 7-for-10 from the field, while pulling down six boards and compiling six steals. Against Del Tech, Mims had 14 points, six rebounds, and a pair of assists. He was 6-for-14 from the field. After hitting just two three-pointers in his first four games (2-for-10), Mims has hit five threes in his last three (5-for-14).  
 
Aamir Mack (Atlantic City, NJ) is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per game. Mack averages just shy of five rebounds per game, and hits around 48% of his shots from the field. Mack hits around 62% of his shots from the free throw line this year. Mack has hit for double-figures in points four times this season, going for his season-high of 17 points in the opening contest against CCBC Catonsville. His best rebounding output was his seven boards against Baltimore City CC. Mack had 12 points and seven rebounds coming off the bench for the Falcons, shooting 5-for-11 from the field. In his last game, Mack had 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, and had five rebounds and a pair of steals in the win over Delaware Tech.    
 
Caleb Mims (Bethlehem, PA) is fourth on the team at 10.3 points per game this year. Mims leads the Falcons in assists (23), and averages 3.6 rebounds per game from his guard position. Mims shoots 38% from the field, and leads the Falcons in made free throw shots (29), shooting 66% overall from the line. Mims has scored in double-figures four times this year including his last three games, and went for his season-high 16 points against SUNY Rockland. Mims had five assists in the win, and hit four shots from the field, while going 7-for-12 from the free throw line. Against Del Tech, he had 13 points, and put up season-highs in rebounds (5) and assists (6) in the win over the Terry Hawks.  
 
Rahmad Ali (Newark, NJ) is averaging seven points per game this season, while also pulling down just shy of five rebounds per game, third on the team. Ali is third on the squad with 14 assists, and is fourth on the team in steals (6). Ali is shooting around 49% from the field this year, and is shooting 41% (7-for-17) from downtown this season. Rahmad has gone for double-figures twice this season, and had his best game against Essex, scoring a season-high 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including a pair of three-point shots. He also had four rebounds against the Wolverines. Ali had five points and six rebounds in the win over Delaware Tech. Ali did not play last season against Mercer County CC for the Falcons.  
 
Nashawn Johnson is averaging seven points per game this year, and has been mostly the sixth man for the Falcons before starting his last three games. He's first on the team with 7.7 rebounds per game, and is shooting around 40% from the field so far this season. Johnson scored his season-high with 14 points in the win over Rockland, pulling down ten rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Johnson was an efficient 5-for-7 from the field. Johnson set a season-high with 16 rebounds in the win over Delaware Tech in his last game, also scoring seven points for the Falcons in the win. Johnson had a combined 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists in two games against Mercer last year, scoring all 12 points in the road game against the Vikings last season.  
 
Niare Poplar (Philadelphia, PA) has so far been one of the better bench players for the Falcons this year, averaging 4.6 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per contest in his seven appearances. Poplar has been one of the more accurate shooters on the team, hitting 48% of his shots, and going 5-for-14 from three-point range in his first seven games. Poplar had ten points and four rebounds in the win over Dundalk, his season-high for points. Poplar had a season-best six rebounds, as well as two assists and two blocks, but did not score in the win over Delaware Tech on Tuesday.
 
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
Mercer County CC (3-4, 0-1) comes into the game having lost back on Tuesday to Chesapeake College, 108-55 on the road. The Skipjacks were dominant from start to finish, putting six players in double-figures, including all five starters, and shot 57% from the field for the game, while scoring 61 points in the first half on their way to the win. They also outrebounded Mercer 42-18 on the glass, and forced 21 turnovers from the Vikings. Mercer shot 36% from the field, and was led by Jake Manuel, who scored a team-best 15 points in the loss. Mercer's three wins are already more than they earned all of last season, so the Vikings have been infinitely more competitive this season.
 
Mercer County CC is averaging around 68 points per game so far this season, while opponents are scoring 72 per game against them. Mercer is shooting around 40% as a team, and are hitting around 34% from beyond-the-arc, while opponents have hit 47% of their shots against the Vikings, and have hit around 32% from downtown. The Vikings get to the free throw line fairly often, averaging 21 trips per game, and are shooting a strong 72% from the charity stripe. The have a -5 rebounding margin, and average over 14 turnovers per game, but have forced nearly 18 turnovers per game this year.
 
The Vikings are led by Izaiah Johnson, averaging 16.7 points per game through the first seven games of the year. Johnson is hitting on 38% of his shots this year, and 32% from downtown. He's also shooting at 73% from the free throw line. He leads the squad in 4.1 assists per game, and also leads in steals at 2.6 per contest. Johnson averages 3.7 rebounds per game, as well. His nine points against Chesapeake was the first time this year that he didn't score in double-figures. His season-high of 24 points came in a win over SUNY Ulster, where he hit six shots from the field and was 11-for-14 from the free throw line. Johnson had a season-high seven assists and 17 points in a win over Northern Virginia. Against Chesapeake, he had nine points on just 4-for-16 shooting, and had five assists and two steals in the loss to the Skipjacks.
 
Jake Manuel is second in scoring on the team, averaging 15.6 points per game this season. Manuel is hitting over 42% of his shots, and leads the team in three-point makes, with 20 made threes so far this season. Manuel is second on the team in free throw shooting, hitting nearly 81% of his attempts from the stripe. Manuel is third on the team in rebounds (5.1 per game) and averages about an assist per game. Manuel has scored in double-figures in six of seven games, and set his season-high with 24 points in the win over Northern Virginia. He made 7-of-8 free throws, a season-best, in the win. He set a season-high with six made three-pointers in the win over SUNY Ulster, where he scored 24 points. Against Chesapeake, Manuel had a team-high 15 points, and also had four rebounds in the loss.
 
Deon Sanders is third on the team at 11.1 points per game so far this year, mostly coming off the bench for the Vikings. Sanders leads the team in shooting (45.5%) and hits around 38% from three, while leading the Vikings from the free throw line at 83.3%. Sanders averages 1.4 assists per game, and just under one steal per game. Sanders has scored in double-figures in four of seven games this year, and hit his season-high 18 points, making four three-point shots, in the win over Camden County CC. Sanders had eight points and was 5-for-5 from the free throw line in the loss to Chesapeake.
 
Isham McClain is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging nine points per contest this season. McClain is shooting 43% from the field, and hits around the same from deep. McClain leads the Vikings in rebounding at 6.4 per contest this year, and is second on the team in assists (3.1) and steals (2.0). Isham has scored in double-figures twice this year, getting his season-high of 19 points in a loss to Cecil College, where he hit five shots from the field, all threes, and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He's twice pulled down double-digit rebounds, twice getting ten, including ten rebounds and eleven points in his lone double-double in a loss to Essex County College. McClain had eight points and three rebounds in the loss to Chesapeake.
 
 
The head coach for the Vikings is Howard Levy, who enters his 15^th year at Mercer. Mercer did not participate in the pandemic shortened season, so while this is technically his 15^th year with the school, it's only his 14^th actual season. Levy has a 163-212 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 game is set for a 12:00pm ET tip-off inside the Mercer County CC gymnasium in their on-campus fitness center. There will be a video livestream available via the Mercer County CC Athletics Vimeo channel, linked HERE.  
 
Lackawanna College are back to work on Tuesday December 6^th, when they travel down interstate 81 for a road match-up with Penn State Hazleton. The game is set for a 6:00pm ET tip-off inside the PSU Hazleton gymnasium.