1/28/25

SCRANTON, Pa. -- The defending Region XIX champions hit a run that Lackawanna College men's basketball couldn't quite counter, and Raritan Valley CC escaped NEPA with a 95-90 win against the Falcons on Tuesday night inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (11-12, 4-5) held a 46-42 lead at halftime, and were ahead 64-60 with 11:57 to go after Evan Laybourn-Boddie (Scranton, PA) connected on a jumper. That would be the last field goal for the next 3:48 for the Falcons, as Raritan Valley (13-10, 7-2) used a 14-1 run to turn that deficit into a 74-65 lead. The run finally got snapped when Jireej Cole (Bronx, NY) spun on the block for a left-hand finish inside, through contact, at 8:09 to go. Cole missed a free throw, but Laybourn Boddie kept the ball alive, then buried a three-pointer that suddenly had the Falcons within four with under eight to play.
 
Raritan kept Lackawanna at arm's length for the next few minutes, and the Lions led 85-78 with under 3:30 to play. Laybourn-Boddie, who hit a season-high six three-pointers, buried a three in transition to cut the deficit to 85-81, grabbed a defensive board on the other end, and then fired a long-range pass to Noah McIntosh (Philadelphia, PA) for a transition lay-up that made it 85-83, Raritan, with 2:48 to play.
 
The Falcons had it at two again inside two minutes to go, but a three-pointer from the Lions lengthened the lead to five, and Lackawanna College could not hit a counter until the game was a bit more out-of-reach.
 
Laybourn-Boddie had a team-high 24 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Nick Marabito (Upper Darby, PA) came up with 20 points for the Falcons. Cole had 15 points and eleven rebounds, while Jasier Carter (North Brunswick, NJ) added 12 points and five rebounds off the bench. Lackawanna shot 46.1% from the floor and hit ten three-pointers, but the Falcons were just 10-for-21 from the free throw line and committed 14 turnovers.
 
Raritan shot 47.8% from the floor and hit nine three-pointers. The Lions had four players in double-figures, led by a game-high 30 points from Ja'Quis Davis, who hit six three-pointers and was 8-for-12 from the free throw line. Najee Graham added 23 points and ten rebounds, along with six assists, while Sutan Fitzpatrick had 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
 
The Falcons have now dropped three straight games, but remain in fourth place and a game ahead of Essex County College in the Region XIX DII standings. Up next for Lackawanna is the team atop the Region XIX DII standings, Middlesex College. That game is set for a 3:00pm ET start on Saturday, February 1^st, inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. Middlesex beat Lackawanna, 95-65, earlier this season in December.