12/16/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – A field goal drought over the final three minutes, as well as four turnovers in the last two, doomed Lackawanna College men's basketball, as the Falcons blew a narrow lead and dropped an 81-76 loss to Essex County College on Tuesday evening in men's NJCAA Region XIX Division II play inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (7-6, 2-3), locked in a back-and-forth, seesaw battle for most of the second half, had just taken the lead on a long three-pointer from Jaksa Pejovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) with 3:35 remaining. That would be the last bucket that Lackawanna would make the rest of the way, as the pressure from the visiting Wolverines (6-7, 3-1) ramped up the rest of the way.
 
After Essex tied the game on a lay-up, both Elijah Smith (Washington, D.C.) and Khalil Kemp (Philadelphia, PA) split two free throws to make it 75-73, Falcons, with 2:06 remaining. Essex guard Ethan Laquindanum tied the game on an acrobatic finish, then forced a turnover at halfcourt, stole the ball, and scored on a lay-up to make it 77-75, Wolverines, with 1:31 to play.
 
Out of a timeout, the Falcons missed a three-pointer, got a defensive stop, but then turned the ball over to Laquindanum, who was fouled and scored two free throws with 38 seconds to go, putting Essex up four. Another steal was taken right back, but the Falcons threw the ball away with 19 seconds remaining. Laquindanum made two more free throws with 13 seconds left to go up six, but the Falcons missed a three-pointer, then went 1-for-2 on the line with seven seconds left to round out the scoring.
 
It completed a dramatic turnaround for the visitors, who overcame a nine-point deficit midway through the second half and set up the dramatic final minutes.
 
Essex had raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first half, but Lackawanna fought back to get within 19-16, thanks to eight points from Kaleb Ra'Ifa (Wilmington, DE), which included a pair of three-pointers. The Falcons eventually snagged the lead at 25-24 thanks to a three from Xavier Spears (Brooklyn, NY), and the Falcons carried a six-point lead into halftime.
 
Lackawanna shot 45% from the floor in the first half, but just 36% in the second, finishing at 41% for the game and just 8-for-29 from downtown. Lackawanna was also 10-for-17 from the free throw line, while committing 20 turnovers. Pejovic hit three three-pointers and finished with a team-high 13 points and ten rebounds, while Latrell Mark (Frederick, MD) also came off the bench to score 13 points, grab eight rebounds, and post six assists. Ra'Ifa and Noah Elias (Silver Spring, MD) each finished with ten points, while Smith, David Popson (Wilkes-Barre, PA) and Matthew Nora (Houston, TX) each finished with eight points off the bench.
 
Essex overcame the Falcons thanks to a 48% shooting performance in the second half, while also hitting 11-for-14 from the free throw line. The Wolverines had five players in double-figures, getting a game-high 17 points from Jaden Reid off the bench. Rodney Willis Jr. had a 16-point, eleven-rebound double-double, while Laquindanum and Martinez each had 12 points. Ryan English scored eleven off the bench.
 
Lackawanna finishes the fall semester with three losses in its last four games. Lackawanna will get back to action in the new year with a non-league home game against Penn State Dubois on Friday, January 9^th. Tip is set for 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.