11/6/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's basketball hits the road on Wednesday night for a real early test this season, as the Falcons travel to take on the national-power Montgomery County CC Mustangs on Wednesday, November 6^th.
 
The tip is scheduled for 7:00pm ET inside the Montgomery County CC gymnasium. The match-up will pit the Falcons against the nationally ranked DIII Mustangs, sixth in the preseason NJCAA DIII rankings and a team that finished sixth in the DIII national tournament a year ago. There will be a video livestream available via the Montco Athletics YouTube channel, linked HERE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (1-1) have split their first two games this season, winning on the road at Thaddeus Stevens this past Saturday, before dropping their home opener this past Monday against PSU Scranton.
 
In the loss to Penn State, the Falcons were just 3-for-27 from downtown and shot 28.9% overall in the 86-63 loss. PSU Scranton hit nine three-pointers, five in the second half, and shot 47% for the game to run away with the victory. Penn State had three players in double-figures.
 
Through two games, the Falcons are averaging 66.5 points per contest, while giving up 72.5. Lackawanna is shooting 31% from the field and just 15% from downtown. Meanwhile, the Lackawanna opponents are hitting 46.8% and 32.7%, respectively. Lackawanna has a -3.5 rebounding margin, and a 0.8 assist/turnover ratio. Lackawanna has forced 39 turnovers so far this season, and is averaging ten steals per contest through its first two games.
 
Sophomore guard Shawnn Smith (Philadelphia, PA) is the leading scorer for Lackawanna through two games, scoring 40 points through his two contests, both times putting up 20. Smith is shooting 43.8% from the floor, and is a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. He averages seven rebounds per game and has three assists through two games. He had 20 points and five rebounds in the win at Thaddeus Stevens, then had 20 points and nine rebounds in the loss to PSU Scranton.
 
First-year stretch forward Noah McIntosh (Philadelphia, PA) is second on the team with 24 points through two games. McIntosh is shooting 31% from the floor and has ten total rebounds through two games. He also has three assists, two steals, and five blocks. Noah had 15 points and seven boards in the win against Thaddeus Stevens, but was held to nine points and three rebounds in the loss to PSU Scranton on Monday.
 
First-year guard Evan Laybourn-Boddie (Wilkes-Barre, PA) has scored 19 points through two games, shooting 33% from the floor and 85.7% from the free throw line. Laybourn-Boddie leads the team with five assists and five steals through two games. He had 13 in the win at Thaddeus Stevens on Saturday, but was held to six points on 2-for-8 shooting against PSU Scranton on Monday night.
 
First-year forward Jaden McMeekin (Pittsburgh, PA) is averaging 6.5 points per game through two contests. McMeekin is shooting 25% from the floor, all on three-pointers. He has eight rebounds through two games. McMeekin had six points and four boards in the loss to PSU Scranton on Monday.
 
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. Before that, he was also a college basketball assistant 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 9-19 in his career at Lackawanna as head coach.
 
About the Opponent
The Mustangs (1-0) have played just one game so far this season. Last year, Montco was 28-3, winning the Region XIX DIII championship and eventually finishing sixth in the country in the NJCAA DIII tournament. They are the pre-season #6 team in Division III.
 
That one game was a win against Harrisburg Area CC on the road, by a 78-62 margin. The Mustangs led by six at the break, then pulled away in the second half for the victory. Montco shot 59.6% from the floor and outrebounded HACC by a +21 margin. The Mustangs won despite shooting just 2-for-11 from the three-point line and committing 20 turnovers.
 
 Matthew Williams led the Mustangs with 28 points, shooting 11-for-18 from the floor and pulling down 12 rebounds for the double-double. Former Falcon Sean Emfinger had 24 points and ten rebounds, along with a team-high five steals. Baasil Saunders added 16 points and six assists, while Jonathan Brooks pulled down ten rebounds.
 
The head coach for the Mustangs is Koran Prince, now in his second season at the helm of the program. Prince was named the EPAC and NJCAA North Atlantic District COTY last year, leading Montco to a 28-3 record and the program's first Region XIX championship in four years. Coach Prince holds a Bachelor's degree in Technology from Penn State.
 
The Match-Up
The match-up is set for a 7:00pm ET start on Wednesday, November 6^th inside the Montgomery County CC gymnasium. There will be a video livestream available via the Montco Athletics YouTube channel, linked HERE.
 
Lackawanna College has a pair of games happening this weekend at the SUNY Onondaga Lazer Tip-Off Classic in Syracuse, NY. Their first game will be Saturday, November 9^th, at 3:00pm ET against Jefferson CC.