11/8/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's basketball is in action this weekend with a pair of games in the Empire State, as the Falcons travel to take part in the Lazer Tip-Off Classic at SUNY Onondaga in Syracuse, NY.
 
The Falcons will play in game one of the event on Saturday, November 9^th, with a 3:00pm ET tip against Jefferson CC inside the SRC Arena and Events Center on the campus of SUNY Onondaga. Lackawanna then takes on the hosts at 3:00pm ET on Sunday, November 10^th. All the games will be livestreamed via the Lazers Live Sports Network, linked HERE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (1-2) come into the weekend on a two-game slide. Lackawanna lost its home opener on Monday against PSU Scranton, then dropped a road game at Montgomery County CC this past Wednesday. The Falcons played the Mustangs tough, overcoming an early ten-point deficit, then taking a lead through the second half. Lackawanna led 60-57 with five minutes to go, but Montco closed the game on a 15-6 run to close out the Falcons for the win. You can read the recap HERE.
 
Through three games, the Falcons are averaging 66.3 points per contest, while giving up 72.3. Lackawanna is shooting 33% from the field and just 20.5% from downtown. Meanwhile, the Lackawanna opponents are hitting 45% and 32%, respectively. Lackawanna has a -2.3 rebounding margin, and a 0.8 assist/turnover ratio. Lackawanna has forced 57 turnovers so far this season, and is averaging ten steals per contest through its first three games.
 
Sophomore guard Shawnn Smith (Philadelphia, PA) is the leading scorer for Lackawanna through three games, scoring 63 points, a 21 points per game average. Smith is shooting 44.4% from the floor, and is a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. He averages seven rebounds per game and has six assists. He has scored 20 points or more in all three games this season. Smith had 23 points and seven rebounds, while playing all 40 minutes, in the loss to Montco on Wednesday night.
 
First-year stretch forward Noah McIntosh (Philadelphia, PA) is second on the team with 37 points through three games, averaging 12.3 points per contest. McIntosh is shooting 32.6% from the floor and has 14 total rebounds through three games. He also has five assists, four steals, and five blocks. Noah had 15 points and seven boards in the win against Thaddeus Stevens to open the season. Against Montco, he had 13 points and four rebounds in 37 minutes, while hitting three three-point shots.
 
First-year guard Evan Laybourn-Boddie (Wilkes-Barre, PA) has scored 29 points through three games, shooting 29% from the floor and 81.8% from the free throw line. Laybourn-Boddie leads the team with seven assists and nine steals through three games. Laybourn-Boddie has scored double-digits twice this season, putting up 13 in the win at Thaddeus Stevens last weekend. Evan had ten points and four steals in the loss at Montgomery County CC on Wednesday.
 
First-year forward Jaden McMeekin (Pittsburgh, PA) is averaging five points per game through three contests. McMeekin is shooting 31% from the floor, all on three-pointers. He has eleven rebounds through three games. McMeekin had six points and four boards in the loss to PSU Scranton on Monday, then scored six points and pulled down three rebounds against Montco on Wednesday.
 
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 9-20 in his career at Lackawanna as head coach.
 
About Jefferson Community College
The Cannoneers have not played yet this season. They went 10-15 last season, competing in Region III at the DIII level. Jefferson made the Mid-State Athletic Conference championship game, then qualified for the Region III tournament before bowing out against Clinton CC.
 
The Cannoneers scored 74.4 points last year, averaging 40.2% from the floor, while hitting 26% from three-point range. Their opponents averaged 73.9 points per game, shooting 41% from the floor and 29.5% from downtown. The Cannoneers had a +1.2 rebounding margin last season, averaging 42.1 rebounds per game. The Cannoneers averaged 13.7 assists per contest, and averaged 9.2 steals per game.
 
Jefferson lost its top four scorers from last year. The only returning player from 2023-2024 is Owen Coall, a sophomore from Australia. Coall averaged 6.4 points per game, playing around 15 minutes per contest. Coall shot 37.8% from the floor, and hit 34% from downtown. Coal averaged 2.6 rebounds per contest, and was at about an assist per game. Coall had five games with ten or more points, with a season-high 23 points coming against Tompkins Cortland CC, hitting five three-pointers and making eight shots on 53% from the floor. He had a season-high six assists against Finger Lakes CC last season, and put up seven rebounds in a loss to Fulton-Montgomery a year ago.
 
Apart from Coall, Jefferson has two sophomores and 13 first-year players on its roster this season.
 
The head coach for Jefferson is Joe Vaadi. Vaadi has 25 years of experience coaching at various levels. Vaadi was a two-year volunteer assistant with the Cannoneers before stepping into the head role. Before coming to Jefferson, Vaadi spent 18 years as both men's soccer coach and women's basketball coach at SUNY Potsdam. While there, Vaadi had success in both sports, helping the soccer team achieve a conference playoff berth and winning coach of the year in 2000, while also helping the women's basketball team to its first and only conference championship in 1994. Joe graduated from Potsdam with a degree in Elementary Education and History. He also has a Master's degree in Sport Coaching.
 
About SUNY Onondaga
The Lazers (0-2) have been in some high-scoring games through the first two contests this season, giving up over 110 points in both losses. The latest game was a 114-66 loss at home to Genesee CC this past Wednesday. The Lazers struggled from the field, shooting 33% from the floor and hitting just 14.8% from downtown. Genesee hit 48% from the floor, 41% from downtown, and put six players in double-figures on the night.
 
Through two games, the Lazers are averaging 80.5 points per game, while giving up 116 points per game. Onondaga is shooting 40.3% from the floor, while hitting 20.4% from downtown and 61% from the free throw line. Their opponents are hitting 50.3% from the floor, while shooting 41.7% from downtown. The Lazers are getting outrebounded by an -8.5 margin, and are averaging 15.5 turnovers per game, while putting up 14 assists per contest. The Lazers average five steals per game this year.
 
Sophomore Gage Kielmann has scored 35 points through two games this season, shooting 37.1% from the floor and shooting 33.3% from downtown. Kielmann has 14 rebounds through two games, with three assists. Kielmann scored double-figures in both games, scoring 20 points in the season-opening loss to Paul Smith's College, hitting six three-pointers. He had 15 points and eight rebounds on Wednesday against Genesee.
 
Sophomore Joseph Guerrero has 17 points through two games, shooting 50% from the floor and pulling down nine rebounds. Guerrero hit double-figures against Paul Smith's College with eleven points and four rebounds, then had six points and five boards in the loss to Genesee on Wednesday.
 
First-year player Lincoln Baldwin has 16 points in two games, coming off the bench both times. Baldwin shoots 33% from the floor, and has seven rebounds and four assists so far this season. Baldwin scored eight points in each of the two games he's seen action in, with eight points, four rebounds, and three assists coming against Paul Smith's College. He had eight points and three boards in the loss to Genesee.
 
First-year player Jackson Forte has 15 points through two games, shooting 40% from the floor. Forte has five assists, tied for first on the team, and has four rebounds so far this year. Forte had ten points in the loss to Paul Smith's College, then had five points, five assists, and three boards in the loss to Genesee on Wednesday.
 
Joe Hulbert is the head coach for the Lazers, now entering his third season in charge. Coach Hulbert spent time as the assistant with SUNY Morrisville's men's basketball team, and was the head coach for the Middleburgh Magic 18u AAU team. He spent time as the head coach at Duanesburg HS boys' varsity summer league. Hulbert was a team captain in his time at Morrisville. In his time at Onondaga, Hulbert has a 16-36 overall record.
 
The Match-Ups
The first game of the Saturday, November 9^th doubleheader will be between the Falcons and the Cannoneers from Jefferson at 3:00pm ET. Holyoke CC from Massachusetts will take on Onondaga in the night-cap at 7:00pm ET. The Sunday, November 10^th session will start with Jefferson and Holyoke CC at 1:00pm ET, followed by the Falcons and the Lazers at 3:00pm ET. All four contests will take place inside the SRC Arena and Events Center on SUNY Onondaga's campus. All the games will be livestreamed via the Lazers Live Sports Network, linked HERE.