11/21/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. -- The hot-shooting of Mercer County never let up, and Lackawanna College lacked the ability to fight back, as the Vikings raced past the Falcons in a 78-48 win for Mercer on Tuesday night in the Region XIX DII opener for the Falcons at home at the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (2-5, 0-1) shot just 22% from the field for the game, and were just 3-for-31 from beyond-the-arc, while the visiting Vikings (4-2, 1-1) were a blistering 55% for the game, including an impressive 58.6% in the second half. Mercer dominated the paint, outscoring Lackawanna 38-to-18, and had 34 points off the bench, compared to Lackawanna's ten. The closest Lackawanna came was early in the contest, when a lay-up made it 5-2, Vikings, at the 16:44 mark of the first half. Otherwise, from start to finish, it was all Mercer, which put three men in double-figures and built a lead that got as high as 34 points.
 
Lackawanna had a pair of players in double-figures, with Joey Chapman (Sophomore; Reading, PA) leading the way with 13 points, and Pablo Avalos Ortiz (Sophomore; Málaga, Spain) adding ten points. Aamir Mack, averaging 24.6 entering the game, was held to just six points and eight rebounds.
 
Mercer was led by Izaiah Johnson's 17 points and five rebounds, while Darius Bland had 16 points and five boards off the bench, and Justin Carbone had 14 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Falcons are off through the Thanksgiving break, and will get back to action in Region XIX DII play on Tuesday, November 28^th, when they are set to play host to the Raritan Valley CC Lions. It'll be a doubleheader at the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium, with the women tipping at 5:00pm ET, and the men following at 7:00pm ET.