11/4/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Off to a good start after an opening day victory on the road, Lackawanna College men's basketball is back home to start for its home opener for the 2024-2025 season, as the Falcons host the Nittany Lions from Penn State University Scranton on Monday, November 4^th.
 
The tip is scheduled for 6:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The game is open to the public, with tickets being sold at the door for $5 for adults and $3 for students. Attendees with a Lackawanna College ID get in for free. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE. Steve Young will handle the play-by-play, alongside Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (1-0) earned a season-opening win this past weekend with a 70-59 victory on the road at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster this past Saturday. The Falcons had three players in double-figures for scoring and held the home Bulldogs to just 19 points in the first half, as they built a 19-point halftime lead and cruised to the win. You can read the recap HERE.
 
Sophomore guard Shawnn Smith (Philadelphia, PA) led the way with 22 points, scoring in a variety of ways for the Falcons. Smith is a transfer from Lock Haven University.
 
First-year stretch guard Noah McIntosh (Philadelphia, PA) added 16 points, while first-year guard Evan Laybourn-Boddie (Wilkes-Barre, PA) chipped in eleven points for the Falcons.
 
Head coach Kirk Fallon is in his second season as the head coach, and his fifth overall with Lackawanna College men's basketball. Fallon came to the Falcons after a successful two seasons coaching girls basketball at Susquehanna Community HS. Fallon led the Lady Sabers to back-to-back PIAA District 2 championships and a 40-17 record in his two years. He was also a college basketball assistant before that at Keystone College for four seasons, where he was involved a lot of the logistics for the program. Kirk has a Bachelor's degree from Marywood, where he played three seasons for the Pacers. He's a northeast PA native, graduating from Susquehanna as a 1,000-point scorer. Fallon is 9-18 in his career at Lackawanna as head coach.
 
About the Opponents
The Nittany Lions (1-1) have played a pair of games so far this season, knocking off Westmoreland County CC in a 96-85 win just this past Saturday, after dropping their opener to Bryant & Stratton (OH), 85-79, the day before.
 
In the loss to B&S, the Nittany Lions were neck-and-neck with the Bobcats throughout the contest. A brief spell where Bryant & Stratton extended a slim margin to a ten-point lead midway through the first half really proved to be just enough of a difference. Penn State had several opportunities where they closed the gap to three points throughout the second half, including with two free throws with less than 90 seconds to go, but each time, B&S answered with a big bucket. Penn State shot 43% from the field and was an impressive 17-for-20 from the free throw line on the night.
 
Three players hit double-figures for the Nittany Lions, with Zay Fowlks scoring a game-high 26 points, hitting five three-pointers and pulling down six rebounds. Mario Olivieri added 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Jaiden Wiggins had 16 points and six rebounds. The Bobcats outscored PSU Scranton 31-to-9 in bench points.
 
The head coach for the Nittany Lions is Troy Jackson.
 
The Match-Up
The tip is scheduled for 6:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium on Monday, November 4^th. The game is open to the public, with tickets being sold at the door for $5 for adults and $3 for students. Attendees with a Lackawanna College ID get in for free. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE. Steve Young will handle the play-by-play, alongside Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson.
 
The Falcons are back to action on Wednesday, November 6^th, when they travel to Blue Bell, PA to take on the Montgomery County CC Mustangs. Tip is set for 7:00pm ET inside the Montco gymnasium.