3/12/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference announced its annual all-conference squad for the 2024-2025 men's and women's basketball season, and five Lackawanna College student-athletes were chosen to represent the Falcons.
 
Three women's basketball players were named to the Division II 1^st Team, as the sophomore trio of Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA), E'ternity Aiken (Wilkes-Barre, PA) and Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) were all named to the squad.
 
Two men's basketball players, sophomore Jireej Cole (Bronx, NY) and first-year guard Evan Laybourn-Boddie (Scranton, PA), were named to the Division I/II 1^st Team.
 
Franklin led the Falcons with 16.6 points per game this season, while pulling down 12.6 rebounds per game. She was a 45.8% shooter from the field, made 17 three-pointers as a forward, and was a 64.2% shooter from the free throw line. Franklin was tied for the team lead with 55 steals, led the Falcons with 42 rejections, and had 60 assists on the year. She had 22 games in double-figures scoring, going for 20 or more points in nine games, and she had 16 double-doubles. Franklin set a season-high in the first game of the year, scoring 30 points against CCBC Catonsville on November 1^st. Her best rebounding performance was grabbing 23 boards, while also scoring 28 points, in a narrow win at Salem CC on December 14^th. Franklin scored 414 points and grabbed 314 rebounds in her one season at Lackawanna College.
 
South averaged 11.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game this past year. She shot 32.7% from the floor and made 19 three-pointers, second on the team. South also made 53 free throws, second on the squad. She had 62 assists, second on the team, 44 steals, and 26 blocks. South scored double-figures 17 times this past year, posting two double-doubles on the year. She set a career-high with 42 points against Essex on November 19^th. She shot 15-for-26, made six three-pointers, and grabbed eight boards, while finding time to dish out seven assists. It was the most points scored by a women's basketball player at Lackawanna in 24 years. Jayla ends her Lackawanna career with 651 points and 311 rebounds.
 
Aiken played in 19 games, averaging 8.5 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per contest. She shot 49.2% from the floor and 64.5% from the free throw line. Aiken had 24 steals, 18 blocks, and 23 assists this past year. She had four double-doubles on the year and scored double-figures in eight games, including six of her final seven contests. Her season-and-career-best came against Raritan Valley, as she scored 24 points and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds in the win at home on January 28^th. Aiken had a six-game stretch towards the end of the season where she scored 16 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per contest, while shooting 61.9% from the floor.
 
Cole played in only 15 games in the spring semester, but averaged 9.6 points per game and eleven rebounds per contest, shooting 56.3% from the floor and making 59% of his free throw attempts. Cole had ten double-doubles in 15 games and scored double-figures in ten games on the year. He set a season-high with 16 points in his first game of the season against Westchester on January 9^th. He had a season-high 17 rebounds in the Region XIX championship game against Raritan Valley CC.
 
Laybourn-Boddie had an incredible first year at Lackawanna College, scoring 563 points and averaging 18.8 per game. He shot 40.4% from the floor and made 86 three-point shots, the most in all of Region XIX. Laybourn-Boddie also made 85 free throws and shot 70.8% from the stripe. He led the Falcons with 4.03 assists per game, 121 total assists on the year, and was also first on the team at 2.4 steals per contest. He scored double-figures in 25 games this past season, going for 20+ points in 14 games. He posted one double-double, scoring 17 points and dishing out a season-high eleven assists in a win against SUNY Rockland on January 11^th. His season-high of 35 points came in a win at home against Mercer County CC on February 4^th, where he was 12-for-16 from the floor and hit eight three-pointers. Evan scored 30 points in back-to-back games in the Region XIX DII tournament, which included a win against Middlesex where he scored 22 points in the second half, making six three-pointers after halftime.
 
The full All-EPAC squads are listed below:
 
Women's Basketball Division II First Team
Amber Bullard – Harcum College (EPAC Player of the Year)
Salote Franklin – Lackawanna College
Jayla South – Lackawanna College
Thailys Torres – Delaware Tech CC
E'ternity Aiken – Lackawanna College
 
Men's Basketball Division I/II First Team
Drew Zimmerman – Delaware Tech CC (EPAC Player of the Year)
Bahsil Laster – Harcum College
Evan Laybourn-Boddie – Lackawanna College
Dorian Nick Jones – Harcum College
Jireej Cole – Lackawanna College