2/27/25

SCRANTON, Pa. – A second-half avalanche, courtesy of Evan Laybourn-Boddie, completely flipped the Region XIX DII men's basketball semifinal on its head, as Lackawanna College men's basketball knocked off Middlesex College, 78-65, on Thursday night inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (16-14) found themselves down 42-37 early in the second half, but quickly hit a 7-0 run over the next 2:30, capped by a Laybourn-Boddie (Scranton, PA) three-pointer to give Lackawanna a 44-42 lead with 16 minutes to play. Middlesex (19-10) countered to go ahead 48-44 with 14:49 to play, and the Falcons were in desperate need of an answer.
 
It started with back-to-back slams from Jireej Cole (Bronx, NY), who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for his tenth double-double on the season. Cole hit another jumper with under 12 to play to tie the game at 50-50.
 
Both teams traded buckets, and Middlesex led 56-52 with 7:36 to go. Laybourn-Boddie, who would finish with 30 points, 22 coming in the second half, got the Falcons going with a three-pointer on the right wing to cut the deficit to one. After a Cole jumper was answered by a Middlesex three, Laybourn-Boddie hit another three-pointer to make it 60-59, Falcons, with 6:30 to play. He hit another three with 4:40 to go, pushing the Falcons ahead to 63-59. A long rebound led to a run out and another three-pointer from Laybourn-Boddie, giving Lackawanna the 66-59 lead and forcing a timeout from Middlesex with 4:13 to play.
 
Middlesex got things back to within 70-62 with 2:42 to play, but Nick Marabito (Upper Darby, PA) skied for an acrobatic offensive board and converted a lay-up to put Lackawanna back up ten. A missed Middlesex shot led to a quick downcourt pass, which Laybourn-Boddie cashed in for another three-pointer, his sixth of the second half, all but burying the Colts and sending Lackawanna to the region championship game.
 
The Falcons shot 46.7% from the floor for the game, making 13 three-pointers at a 54.2% clip. Lackawanna got a game-high 30 points from Laybourn-Boddie, who was 10-for-16 from the floor and hit eight three-pointers on the night. He also had six rebounds and three assists. Marabito put up 21 points, scoring 17 in the first half, while grabbing four boards and dishing out three assists. Cole had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Middlesex shot 37% for the game, but was just 3-for-21 from deep, including 1-for-14 in the second half. The Colts had three players in double-figures, led by Tristin Harcourt's 14 points and six rebounds. Michael Byfield had 12 points and eight rebounds, while Lorenzo Perez came off the bench to score eleven points.
 
Lackawanna College now advances to its 14^th Region XIX championship game in its history. The Falcons will face Raritan Valley CC on Saturday, March 1^st, at 3:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. Raritan beat the Falcons in 2023 for the region title.