2/15/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – On a night when the Falcons were struggling for long stretches, it was Will Johnson's hot shooting from three-point territory that helped Lackawanna College overwhelm the SUNY Rockland Hawks, 73-56, in the regular season home finale on Tuesday night.  
 
Johnson scored a season-high 25 points, 16 in the second half, and went 7-for-9 from downtown, helping Lackawanna College overcome sluggish starts in both the first and second halves. Leading only 14-9 with under nine minutes to play in the first, the Falcons held the Hawks without a point for over seven minutes of play, eventually extending their lead to 18 points at the break. Rockland (2-20) closed to within 35-27 just seven minutes into the second half, but the Falcons, behind four three-pointers from Will Johnson, managed to rocket back out to a 21-point advantage, coasting to the win from there.
 
The Falcons shot 40% from the field, but made 12 three-pointers while shooting 44% from deep. Johnson was the only Falcon in double-figures, but five Falcons finished with six or more points, and every player that saw time managed to score for Lackawanna College.
 
Initially, the first half looked to be a struggle for both teams, with each squad finding made shots hard to come by. SUNY Rockland had two separate scoreless streaks of 7:11 in the first half, only making five shots. Meanwhile, Lackawanna College went nearly eight-and-a-half minutes with just three field goals, but still managed to stay in front, before a run helped them blow it open.
 
With 6:26 to go in the half, Brandon Scott scored a jumper to make it 16-9, Falcons, starting what would be a 17-point flurry from the Falcons. After six straight points, the Falcons would get two more thanks to a two-handed flush from Nashawn Johnson in transition, but a SUNY Rockland jumper would stop the scoreless run and make it 22-11 with 1:40 to play. The Falcons would follow that with three straight three-pointers, two from Magd Abdelwahab and the other from Will Johnson, propelling Lackawanna to a 31-13 halftime lead.
 
Any momentum the Falcons had after the first half quickly dissipated, as Rockland opened the half on a 14-4 run to close the gap to 35-27 with 13:53 to play. Three free throws made it 38-27 Falcons, but Lackawanna was still struggling from the field with 11:33 to go when, finally, the offense showed up, courtesy of Will Johnson.
 
A David Pope steal on one end turned into an easy lay-up for Johnson on the other. Following an empty Rockland possession, Pope found Johnson open on the three-point arc, where he quickly buried a three to send the Lackawanna Student Section to their feet. A Gabe Springer steal on one end resulted in a David Pope three-pointer from the corner on the other end, forcing a timeout from SUNY Rockland and helping the Falcons break it back open at 46-27 with 10:17 to play.
 
After a three-point play from the Hawks on one end, Brandon Scott found Will Johnson open for three, this time from well beyond the arc, and Johnson calmly buried it to put the Falcons up 49-30. A few minutes later, an Abdelwahab steal resulted in another three-pointer from Johnson, putting the Falcons up 53-32 with just over eight minutes remaining. After some more free throws from Rockland, Johnson would hit another from the top-of-the-key, his fourth of the half and seventh overall, making it 56-35 with just over 6:30 to play. The Falcons would begin using their substitutions from there, riding the rest of the game out to their second straight win, and their third win in their last four games.
 
For just the second time this season, Lackawanna College has won back-to-back games, and their three wins in four games is the best four-game stretch they've had all season. The Falcons will try to make that three in a row on Thursday, February 17^th, but it will be a tall task ahead, as they take on the NJCAA Division II #3 team in the land, the SUNY Sullivan Generals, on the road. That game will tip at 7:00pm ET, and will be the last regular season game of the year for Lackawanna College.