1/17/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's basketball has its first four-game win streak since February 2019, and the Falcons will have a stiff test to try to expand on that run, when the Chesapeake Skipjacks come to town on Tuesday January 17^th.
 
The game is set for a 7:00pm ET tip-off inside the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium, and will be the second game of a doubleheader, with the women's teams playing first at 5:00pm ET. The games are open to the public, with tickets sold at the door for students ($3) and adults ($5). There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available for those who cannot attend via the Lackawanna College Falcons Athletic Network and the Region XIX Sports Network. You can access that at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE, or via the Region 19 Sports Network mobile app. Steve Young will handle the play-by-play, and Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will have the color commentary.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (11-3) is off to one of its best starts since going 11-2 to open the first half of the 2017-2018 season. That year, the Falcons won 13 games before their third loss, and finished 24-5, falling in the District semi-finals. This year's squad has won seven of its last eight games, and the Falcons are 3-0 to open the 2023 portion of their campaign, all home wins. In its last game, Lackawanna College overcame a sluggish shooting performance thanks to some solid defense, and, for the third straight game, dug deep to make a run late and grab the win, knocking off SUNY Westchester 65-50 on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons were 38% from the field for the game, using a pair of 11-2 runs in the second half to pull away from the Vikings. Read the full recap HERE.   
 
The Falcons are averaging 81.2 points per game this season, and allowing 72 points per game on the year. The Falcons are shooting 45% from the field, and are hitting just over 30% on the year from downtown. Lackawanna gets to the free throw line a lot, going 204-for-329 so far this season, a 62% clip. The Falcons average 41.4 rebounds per game, with a +5 margin, and they have forced an average of 19.6 turnovers per game, with just over nine steals per contest for the Falcon defense. Opponents are shooting 41.3% from the field this season, and have hit 29% of their three-point attempts this year. Falcon opponents have forced an average of 17.3 Lackawanna turnovers per game.   
 
Nasir Brown (Wilmington, DE) leads the Falcons in scoring at 16.7 points per game on the season. He's tied for third on the team in rebounding (4.6), and leads the team in 3PT FGs made (27). Brown is tops on the team in FT% (73.6%), and is fourth on the team with 19 steals this season. He's hit double-figures in eleven of 14 games, and had gone for 20 or more points in four straight games already this season. His season-high of 25 points came against Essex back in November. Brown hit a season-high ten shots from the field, and had four steals, tying a season-high. Brown struggled from the field against Westchester, going 2-for-9 for a season-low five points. He had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the win.     
 
Malek Mims (Bethlehem, PA) is second on the team with 12.6 points per game this season. Mims leads the Falcons in steals (26), and averages four rebounds per game from his point guard spot. Mims has hit on 45% of his shots this season, and is third on the team in assists (36) this year. He's second on the team in made three-point shots (17) this season. Mims has scored in double-figures eleven 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 Westchester, Mims had five points, snapping streak of nine straight games in double-figures, on 1-for-8 shooting. He managed six rebounds and five assists, as well as a pair of steals, to help the Falcons to the win.
 
Aamir Mack (Atlantic City, NJ) is third on the team in scoring, averaging eleven points per game. Mack averages 4.6 rebounds per game, tied with Brown for third on the team, and hits around 50% of his shots from the field. Mack also has made 57% of his shots from the free throw line this year, and is a 43% 3PT shooter (9-for-21). He leads the Falcons with six blocks this season. Mack has hit for double-figures in points eight times this season, going for his season-high 22 points in his last game against Cecil College. Mack also set his season-high in rebounds with ten, notching his first double-double of the year. Mack made a season-high nine shots from the field, and was 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Against Westchester, Mack had four points on 1-for-8 shooting, with three boards and an assist in the win.     
 
Caleb Mims (Bethlehem, PA) is fourth on the team at 9.8 points per game this year. Mims leads the Falcons in assists (40), and averages 4.1 rebounds per game from his guard position. He's also tied for second on the team in steals (23). Mims shoots 42% from the field, and leads the Falcons in free throw attempts (61), shooting 64% overall from the line. Mims has scored in double-figures seven times this year including four games in a row at one point. He 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. Caleb had nine points on 4-for-7 shooting, with five rebounds and three assists, in the win over Westchester.    
 
Nashawn Johnson (Bronx, NY) is averaging 8.5 points per game this year. He's first on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game, and is shooting around 46% from the field so far this season. He has scored in double-figures four times this year, and scored his season-high 15 points in the last game for the Falcons, leading the team in the win over Westchester. At one point, Nashawn had nine straight points as part of an 11-2 run in the second half that staked the Falcons to a lead they'd never surrender. He scored 15 on 6-for-9 shooting, adding three rebounds. Nashawn had 14 points in the win over Rockland, where he pulled down ten rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Johnson was an efficient 5-for-7 from the field. The second time he hit for 14 was against Morris, where Johnson had 14 on 6-for-8 shooting, as well as seven rebounds and a pair of assists against the Titans. Johnson set a season-high with 16 rebounds in the win over Delaware Tech, also scoring seven points for the Falcons in the win.

Rahmad Ali (Newark, NJ) is averaging 7.5 points per game this season, while also pulling down 4.8 rebounds per game, second on the team. Ali is second on the squad with 39 total assists, and is tied with Caleb Mims for second on the team in steals (23) this season. Ali is shooting 45% from the field this year, and is shooting 38% (14-for-37) from downtown this season. Rahmad has gone for double-figures four times this season, and had his best game against Raritan Valley, where he put up a season-high 15 points in the loss to the Lions. Ali made a season-best six shots from the field, including a season-high three three-pointers, and pulled down six rebounds, while posting two steals for the Falcons. Ali had seven points on 3-for-8 shooting, but managed six rebounds and three assists, as well as three steals, in the win.
 
Brandon Scott (Cheltenham, PA) is up to 5.5 points per game on the year for the Falcons. Scott, the defensive specialist off the bench, is shooting at 51% this season, and is a 73% shooter from the free throw line. He averages 3.2 rebounds per game this year. Brandon had his first double-digit output on offense this year in his last game, scoring 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting, including a 4-for-4 showing from the line, in the win over Westchester. Scott also had eight rebounds, a season-high, against the Vikings.    
 
Julian Wilson (Williamsport, PA) missed the first few games with injury, but has become a bench role player for the Falcons. Wilson is averaging 5.3 points per game in his ten appearances, and has pulled down four rebounds per game so far this campaign. Wilson is shooting around 64% from in close at the basket, and has scored in double-figures three times this season. Against Mercer, Wilson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, scoring 18 points in the last ten minutes of the second half. Against Hazleton, the big guy had 13 points in 18 minutes of work, pulling down four rebounds and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor. He had two points, a rebound, and an assist in the win over Westchester. Wilson is a former Lackawanna football player, who joined the basketball team this season.
 
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
Chesapeake College (13-3) is on an eight game win streak, and 4-0 so far in 2023. The Skipjacks have wins over Region 19 opponents Raritan (105-100), Mercer (108-55), Delaware Tech (107-69), and Essex (85-62) so far this season. Chesapeake most recently earned an 81-73 win over Garrett College on the road this past Saturday. Against the Lakers, Chesapeake struggled in the first half, scoring just 28 points and trailing by ten at the interval, but the Skipjacks exploded for 53 points in the second half on their way to the win. Chesapeake shot 42.6% for the game, and forced 16 turnovers, with eleven steals. Three players went for double-figures in scoring, with DJ Earl's game-high 26 points leading the way. Earl was 8-for-19 from the floor, hitting four three-pointers and going 6-for-12 from the line, while grabbing five rebounds and swiping four steals. JayShaun Freeman had 18 points and six rebounds, while Elisha Gregory had 16 points and eight boards off the bench. Chesapeake, who had been receiving votes in the NJCAA DII polls two weeks ago, was 23-3 last year, but got upset in the Region XX playoffs and missed the national tournament.
 
As a team, Chesapeake is scoring just shy of 89 points on the year, topping 100 points on six different occasions. The most points they have scored this season was 115, coming against St. Mary's College of Maryland JV in the first game of the year. By comparison, Skipjacks opponents are averaging 65 points per game this season. Chesapeake are shooting 45% from the field this season, 30% from downtown, and at 70% from the free throw line. Their opponents are hitting at 40% from the field this year, and shooting 27% from beyond-the-arc. The Skipjacks averaging 39 rebounds per game, and own a +11 rebounding margin, while forcing nearly 16 turnovers per game, and only turning it over eleven times per game, themselves. Chesapeake averages eleven steals per game.     
 
Six players average eight or more points per game this season for Chesapeake, with DJ Earle's 16 points per game as the team-high. Earle shoots 43% from the field this season, and is a 28% shooter from downtown. He averages 5.2 rebounds per game, and leads the Skipjacks at two steals per game. He's also at two assists per contest. He's hit for double-figures in scoring 12 times this year, scoring a season-best 33 points in the road win against Delaware Tech, where he made a season-high 12 shots from the field, including four three-pointers. He's gone over 20 points on four separate occasions this year. Against Garrett, he had 26 points on 8-for-19 shooting, knocking down four three-pointers and accumulating four steals in the win. Twice he's achieved his season-high in rebounds, going for eight against the College of Southern Maryland and then again against Westchester.  
 
JayShaun Freeman is second on the team, averaging 15 points per game so far this season. Freeman is a 46% shooter, and is the most accurate three-point shooter of the main rotation, hitting on 34% of his shots from downtown. He's also the best free throw shooter, hitting at an 82.6% clip this year. Freeman averages 3.4 rebounds per game, and is third on the team with 2.4 assists per game this year. Freeman has hit double-figures in scoring 13 times this year, including his last ten games. His season-high is 20 points, coming on a 72-54 win over Montgomery College back on December 7^th. In that game, he was an efficient 7-for-11, and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. His season-high in rebounds is six, achieving that on three separate occasions, including his last game against Garrett, when he scored 18 points and had six boards in the win over the Lakers. His season-best nine assists and four steals came in the 110-38 win over Harrisburg Area two games ago.   
 
Izaiah Credle is third on the team, averaging just under eleven points per game this year. Credle is a 41% shooter from the field, a 31% three-pointer shooter, and a 76% free throw shooter. Credle averages 4.7 rebounds per game, good for third on the team, and is just over an assist and a steal per game, respectively. Credle has scored in double-figures nine times this season, but just once in his last four games. His season-high 26 points came in the road win at Raritan Valley back on November 12^th, where he was 9-for-16 from the floor, and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the victory. Credle had a season-high eight rebounds in the upset win over Bryant & Stratton College back on December 19^th. Credle scored nine points on 3-for-7 shooting and had five boards in the win over Garrett College this past Saturday.   
 
Justin DeMaria is tied for fourth on the team, averaging 9.6 points per game this year. DeMaria is shooting just under 40% from the field this year, and is a 34% shooter from downtown. DeMaria averages 4.2 rebounds per game, and is just over one steal and one assist per game this year. DeMaria has gone for double-figures in scoring in five games this year, twice hitting for his season-high 23 points. He had 23 on 8-for-17 shooting, going 5-for-9 from three-point range, in the win over Harford on December 10^th, then followed that up with 23 points the next game against Delaware Tech, shooting 10-for-19 from the floor in the win. In that game against Del Tech, he had 14 rebounds, the only time in double-digit rebounds, marking his only double-double of the year. DeMaria had a season-high five assists twice this season. Against Garrett, DeMaria had five points on 2-for-6 shooting in the win.
 
Lamont Powell is the other player averaging 9.6 points per game this season. Powell is a 42% shooter from the floor, and is an 81% free throw shooter this season. Powell leads the team in assists at 3.5 per game this year, and averages just under three rebounds per game this year. Powell has hit for double-figures in seven games this season, achieving a season-high 17 points twice on the year. he had 17 in the big win over Mercer back in November, going 5-for-7 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line, then had 17 points a week later in a loss to Prince George's CC, going 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Powell had a season-high seven rebounds in the win over Essex earlier this month, and set his season-high with eight assists in the win over Harrisburg Area last week. He had five points, three rebounds, and four assists in the win over Garrett this past weekend.
 
Ezekiel Edwards is averaging 7.3 points per game this season, shooting 53.5% from the field this year. Edwards is a 72% shooter from the free throw line, and leads the Skipjacks in rebounding, averaging just a shade under seven boards per contest. Edwards has scored in double-figures six times this year, scoring his season-high of 14 points twice. The first came against Delaware Tech in December, going 6-for-8 from the floor in the win. The second occurrence was against Harrisburg Area, where he was 6-for-9 from the field, including a pair of three-point shots, and had a season-high 12 rebounds. It was the latest in three double-doubles on the year for Edwards. Against Garrett, he had two points, four rebounds, and three assists in the win over the Lakers.   
 
The head coach for Chesapeake College is Andrew Sachs, now in his third full season, and fourth year overall with the Skipjacks. Sachs led Chesapeake to an 18-9 record right out of the game in his first season, the first winning campaign in seven years. Then, after COVID halted the 2020-2021 campaign, he led the Skipjacks to their best record in program history, going 23-3 last year. Chesapeake won 17 games in a row, a program record, during the campaign, before being upset in the rugged Region XX playoffs. Previous to Chesapeake, Sachs was the head men's coach at Salisbury University, where he went 59-24 in three seasons with the Sea Gulls. Salisbury made back-to-back NCAA tournaments with Sachs at the helm. Before Salisbury, Sachs coached at Bethany College in West Virginia for six years. While there, the Bison made two NCAA tournament appearances and four ECAC postseason berths. He finished 117-49 in his time at Bethany, the all-time winningest coach in program history. Sachs was a five-year assistant for Ralph Willard at Holy Cross before taking over at Bethany, and was an assistant with his foot in the collegiate ranks pretty much since he started coaching back in 1987. Sachs graduated in 1990 from Salisbury State, and earned a Master's in Education in 1992 from Salisbury, before then earning a Master's in Sports Administration from Arkansas State in 2021.
 
Game Information
The game is set for a 7:00pm ET tip-off inside the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium, and will be the second game of a doubleheader, with the women's teams playing first at 5:00pm ET. The games are open to the public, with tickets sold at the door for students ($3) and adults ($5). There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available for those who cannot attend via the Lackawanna College Falcons Athletic Network and the Region XIX Sports Network. You can access that at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE, or via the Region 19 Sports Network mobile app. Steve Young will handle the play-by-play, and Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will have the color commentary.
 
Lackawanna College is next on the road against NJCAA Division I opponent Monroe College. That game is set for a 3:00pm ET tip-off on Saturday, January 21^st in New Rochelle, NY, and will be the second game of a doubleheader, with the women's teams tipping first at 1:00pm ET.