Lackawanna College

12/12/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's basketball held off a hard-charging Sussex County with some major plays in the second half to win 95-81 on Thursday night in a Region XIX divisional crossover contest inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (8-7) shot out to a major advantage in the first half, hitting eight three-pointers and shooting 56% en route to a 17-point lead at the break. At one point in the first half, down slightly from their largest lead of 25 with two minutes to go in the first half. The Skylanders (3-9) erased that double-digit deficit in the second half, bringing the game to a five-point deficit with under nine minutes to play, but the Falcons hit a 16-5 run,  highlighted by a pair of throw-downs from Noah McIntosh (Philadelphia, PA), to pull away for the victory.
 
The game stood at 72-65, Falcons, with 8:13 to play, and Sussex drove the lane for a potential lay-up. The shot missed, and Jasier Carter (North Brunswick, NJ) battled for the ball, grabbed the board, and launched an outlet pass to Evan Laybourn-Boddie (Scranton, PA) near mid-court. Laybourn-Boddie quickly accelerated towards the basket, saw McIntosh crashing on the other side of the field, and lobbed up a pass towards the front of the rim. McIntosh leapt, grabbed the ball with two hands, and flushed it home for the alley-oop to get the crowd on its feet and give the Falcons a much-needed shot of adrenaline. A few plays later, with the Falcons ahead at 81-67, McIntosh slipped a screen and dove to the basket. Jaden McMeekin (Pittsburgh, PA) quickly fired a pass to the cutting McIntosh, who rose up with the ball in his right hand and slammed it home to make it 83-67 with just under six minutes to go. Sussex wouldn't get closer than eleven the rest of the way.
 
Lackawanna had five players in double-figures and shot 48% from the floor, making eleven three-pointers. The Falcons had 32 bench points and 22 points off turnovers for the day. Laybourn-Boddie led Lackawanna with 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. McIntosh tied his season-best with 20 points, along with a pair of rebounds. Nick Marabito (Upper Darby, PA) had 13 points, five rebounds, and a team-best eight assists. McMeekin set a season-high with eleven points and seven rebounds, while Steven McKoy (Beverly, NJ) had a career-high 12 points in his first start of the season. Sussex also had five players in double-figures, shooting 41% for the game. Kendrick Davis led all scorers with 27 points, while Jayshon Williams had ten points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Falcons have won two in a row and will try to end the first half of the season on a winning note on Tuesday, December 17^th, with a Region XIX DII men's basketball road game at County College of Morris. Tip-off is set for 7:00pm ET in Randolph, NJ.