12/6/25

SCRANTON, Pa. – Hot-shooting for Lackawanna College men's basketball was enough to survive a late surge from Middlesex College, as the Falcons downed the Colts, 82-73, on Saturday afternoon in Region XIX DII men's action inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (6-3, 2-1) shot 58% from the field in the first half to take a 42-33 advantage, then kept it up with 50% shooting in the second half, along with a 10-for-14 showing from the free throw line, but the Colts (4-5, 1-2) overcame a 75-61 deficit with 2:05 to play, forcing four turnovers in the span of 90 seconds to get within 77-73 with 35 seconds remaining.
 
Lackawanna subbed its starters back in the game, and Xavier Spears (Brooklyn, NY), Latrell Mark (Frederick, MD), and Elijah Smith (Washington, D.C.) combined to hit five free throws down the stretch to put the game away for good and preserve the Lackawanna victory.
 
The start couldn't have been much better for the Falcons, as the home side rocketed out to a 12-0 lead through the first five minutes of game play, highlighted by four points apiece from Smith and Spears. Middlesex battled back to within 18-14 at the 10:20 mark, but Noah Elias (Silver Spring, MD), Jaksa Pejovic (Podgorica, Montenegro), and Spears all hit three-pointers in an 11-2 spurt that put the Falcons ahead 29-16 with 8:26 to play in the half, and they'd hold the Colts at arm's length up to halftime with a 42-33 advantage at the break.
 
Lackawanna opened the second half on a 12-2 scoring burst, with Pejovic and Spears each hitting three-pointers to put the Falcons ahead at 54-35 with 17:12 to play. Middlesex would get it as close as nine a handful of times after that, but Lackawanna seemed to take control with under four minutes to go, when Mark and the Falcons beat the press with a thunderous alley-oop slam to Noah McIntosh (Philadelphia, PA) that made it 70-56. A three and a jumper off a steal brought Middlesex to within nine, but Pejovic hit two free throws and buried a three-pointer on a subsequent possession to put the Falcons up 75-61 with just over two minutes remaining, all before Middlesex's furious rally at the end.
 
The Colts shot 36.9% for the game, but were 7-for-29 from downtown and hit just 62% from the free throw line. Four players scored in double-figures, with Nicholas Barnes coming off the bench to lead the team at 16 points. Amir Abullah scored 13 points and had five assists, while Wander Figueroa had 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Joel Cineus scored 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
 
Lackawanna was led by Pejovic's 18 points and six rebounds, while Spears had 16 points. Smith had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Elias had ten points. Mark had seven points, six rebounds, and four assists. The Falcons shot 53.8% from the floor and hit eleven three-pointers.
 
Lackawanna College will next take on Mercer County CC in Region XIX DII play on Tuesday, December 9^th, inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. Tip is set for 7:00pm ET, and the game in the second in a doubleheader, with the women's teams competing first at 5:00pm ET.