11/25/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – A blazing second half shooting performance carried Montgomery County CC past Lackawanna College men's basketball, 78-52, on Tuesday night in non-region action between the Mustangs and the Falcons inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (5-3) led 28-27 at the halftime break, despite shooting 33% from the floor and hitting just 4-for-16 from three. Part of the reason for that was the Falcons playing solid defense, holding the visitors to just 29.6% from the floor and a 3-for-12 showing from downtown.
 
However, the Mustangs (4-1), ranked #12 in the latest NJCAA Division III rankings, shot out of a cannon in the second half, going on a 23-5 run to open a 17-point advantage inside the first nine minutes. Montco shot a staggering 72.4% from the floor in the second half, while the Falcons were held to just 26% from the field, while also hitting just 2-for-16 from downtown. For the game, Lackawanna was 6-for-32 from deep. Montco had a 44-26 advantage in points in the paint, and the Mustangs held a 19-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
In the first half, the Falcons led 15-13 after a frantic first five minutes, but the next five minutes were scoreless for both sides, as the pace of the game slowed to a crawl. Xavier Spears (Brooklyn, NY) broke the silence with a three-pointer at 9:29 to make it 18-13, Falcons, and Lackawanna lengthened the lead out to 24-17 with six minutes to play in the half, but the Falcons went silent for the next 4:30, as Montco went on an 8-0 spurt to go ahead at 25-24. The Falcons eventually fought back before the end of the half, as Elijah Smith (Washington, D.C.) hit a three-pointer just before the halftime horn to put the Falcons ahead 28-27.
 
After Lackawanna scored a bucket to open the second half, Montgomery scored the next eight points to go ahead 35-30 four minutes into the second half. A Jaksa Pejovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) stemmed the bleeding momentarily, and, after a jumper in the paint from the Mustangs, a free throw had the Falcons down 37-33 with 14:42 remaining.
 
A Montgomery free throw, followed by back-to-back Lackawanna turnovers led to a 42-33 lead for the Mustangs. Another turnover led to a score in the paint to make it 44-33 and a timeout for the Falcons at 12:27. The Mustangs scored six more points on the other side of the breather and led 50-33 with 11:31 to go. In just three minutes, the Mustangs had gone on a 13-0 run.
 
Latrell Mark (Frederick, MD) hit a jumper in the paint with 10:40 to go to snap the cold spell, but another score, followed by a deep three-pointer, put the Mustangs ahead by 20 with under ten to play. Try as they might, the Falcons never got within 18 the rest of the game.
 
Three players scored in double-figures for the visitors, led by Tariq Jennings with 18 points and eight rebounds. Matthew Williams added 17 points and Steven Hill had 14 points. For the Falcons, Mark finished with 17 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Pejovic had eleven points.
 
Lackawanna College men's basketball gets back to work on Tuesday, December 2^nd, with a home game against Raritan Valley CC in Region XIX Division II action. Tip is scheduled for 7:00pm ET, and the game is the second of a doubleheader, with the women's teams set to go first at 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.