12/9/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – An early double-digit lead dissolved in the first half, and Lackawanna College men's basketball flamed out in the second half against Mercer County CC in a 71-66 loss on Tuesday evening in a Region XIX DII contest inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (6-4, 2-2) led 21-8 through the first eight minutes of game time, getting seven early points from Latrell Mark (Frederick, MD), as well as three-pointers from Noah Elias (Silver Spring, MD) and Khalil Kemp (Philadelphia, PA) and four points from David Popson (Wilkes-Barre, PA). But the Mustangs (2-9, 1-3) used their methodical approach to slowly close the gap, holding the Falcons scoreless in the next three minutes to get within 21-16 at the 8:30 mark.
 
Lackawanna led 33-30 with a minute to play after a score by Popson inside, but a running lay-up cut the lead to one, and then a steal and a score in transition with 20 seconds to play gave the visitors the 34-33 lead heading into halftime, their first lead of the contest.
 
Struggling to find the right spacing against the long arms of the Mustangs in their high-pressing 2-3 zone, the Falcons seemed to find a groove to start the second-half, scoring ten points in two minutes, all coming from Elias and Jaksa Pejovic (Podgorica, Montenegro). The Falcons led 43-36, but a run by Mercer closed the gap to 43-43 in less than a minute.
 
Lackawanna went back ahead at 52-46 with just over 12 minutes to play, but the Mustangs closed the gap once more and eventually took the lead for good at 59-57 with nine minutes to go. Lackawanna went nearly four minutes without a bucket from 9:43 to 6:01, and Mercer expanded the lead out to 64-59.
 
After an Elias three-pointer cut the gap to 69-62 with 5:35 remaining, the Falcons would go the next nearly five minutes without a successful shot from the field, scoring only on free throws. Mercer wasn't scoring, either, as the Falcons forced several turnovers, but the home side couldn't convert.
 
A Matthew Nora (Houston, TX) score on an offensive rebound made it 72-66, Mustangs, with 43 seconds to play, but the Falcons wouldn't get any closer as Mercer put the game away.
 
Five players scored in double-figures for Mercer County, which shot 54% in the second half, made 79% of its free throws for the game, and forced 23 turnovers from Lackawanna College, turning them into 20 points. Torren Green scored a game-high 19 points off the bench, while Joell Idrovo added 17 points and nine rebounds. Drew Parrish added 13 points off the bench, and Cameron James scored 12 points. Max Martin added ten.
 
Lackawanna shot 38.7% from the field in the second-half and 42.4% overall, but was just 8-for-26 from downtown for the game, while only attempting 12 free throws. Elias led the Falcons with 16 points and five rebounds, while Popson scored ten off the bench. Mark added nine points, seven assists, six steals, and five rebounds.
 
Lackawanna College has a non-conference game next on the docket, as the Falcons travel up the O'Neill Highway to take on Penn State Scranton on Thursday, December 11^th. Tip is set for 6:00pm ET in Dunmore, PA.