1/21/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Visiting Cecil College nearly shot the lights out in the second half, recovering from a double-digit halftime deficit to eventually knock out Lackawanna College men's basketball, 86-82, on Tuesday evening in non-region action at the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
Lackawanna College (11-10) was the team to look out for early, as the Falcons jumped out to a 14-2 lead, early, thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Evan Laybourn-Bodie (Scranton, PA) and Nick Marabito (Upper Darby, PA) getting the game started. Laybourn-Boddie had nine of the first 14 points for Lackawanna. Noah Elias (Silver Spring, MD) came off the bench and scored eight straight points to put Lackawanna up 22-6 with under 13 minutes to go in the first half, forcing a timeout from Cecil. The Falcons shot 48% from the floor in the first half, hitting six three-pointers and holding Cecil to just 29% from the field and a 2-for-12 performance from deep. Lackawanna led 41-27 at the break.
 
Lackawanna's lead wasn't meant to be, as an incredible second half shooting display from the Seahawks (13-6) helped turn the game on its head. The visitors shot 60% from the floor, including a scorching 8-for-13 from the three-point line. Lackawanna led through the first ten minutes, but Cecil managed to take the lead, its first of the game, at the 9:54 mark on a three-pointer on the right wing that made it 59-58, Seahawks.
 
Cecil's lead never got higher than four, and the Falcons managed to fight to get the lead back a few times late, including on a pair of free throws from Laybourn-Boddie with 1:31 to go, which made it 79-78, Lackawanna. However, Cecil could not be denied, as the Seahawks converted a three-point play to re-take the lead, then hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left after the Falcons wasted a possession, making it an 83-79 lead for the visitors. Lackawanna missed a pair of threes, then missed two free throws, opening the door for the Seahawks to sink two more free throws to grow the lead to six with eight seconds left. A Laybourn-Boddie three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left made it a three-point game, but Cecil made a free throw, missed the second on purpose, and escaped with the exciting win.
 
Lackawanna shot 47% for the game and hit nine three-pointers, while going 21-for-29 from the free throw line, but the Falcons had 19 turnovers and gave up ten three-pointers to the Seahawks, who shot 45% for the game. Cecil outscored Lackawanna 23-to-17 on points off turnovers, and it got 44 points from its bench. Laybourn-Boddie led all scorers with 25 points, posting seven assists and five steals. He was one of three Falcons in double-figures, with Elias scoring 13 points and Marabito going for ten points and seven rebounds. Jireej Cole (Bronx, NY) had nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Cecil was led by Darrien Berrios Rivera's 19 points, while Jaiden Guy had ten points and nine rebounds, along with six assists, and Shaun Chandler came off the bench to score 16 points.
 
The loss snaps the three-game winning streak for Lackawanna College. The Falcons will next be in action on Thursday, January 23^rd, at 7:00pm ET against SUNY Orange CC in Middletown, NY. The game is the second of a doubleheader, with the women's teams playing first at 5:00pm ET.