Falcons take down Hazleton 97-60

Hazleton, Pa. - Hazleton fell in their final non-conference game of regular season on Tuesday night, falling to Lackawanna College by the score of 97-60. Hazleton led the ballgame well into the first half but faded late leading to a second half with the Lions scrambling for offense and a lopsided finish. Hazleton had the long range shot working early in the game. Sophomore Colin Johnson (Raleigh, Nc.), junior Jerome Warrick (Alexandria, Va.) and sophomore Joey Lombardo (Kingston, Pa.) all connected on triples in the first seven minutes of action, giving Hazleton a double digit lead by the 13 minute mark. But as the half wore on, Lackawanna's play picked up, leading to 13 Nittany Lion turnovers in the period and allowing the Falcons to claw back into the game. Lackawanna surged ahead midway through the first half and never looked back in this one. Hazleton rallied briefly in the second half and shot over 40 percent on the night, but it was no match for Lackawanna's 62.5 percent shooting from the field and 20 steals defensively. 

Lombardo came off the Nittany Lion bench to lead Hazleton in scoring on Tuesday night. The sophomore went 5-of-8 from the field, connecting on four triples to total 14 points in the loss. Freshman Kyle Artis (Allentown, Pa.) also provided a nice spark of offense, notching 12 points while adding four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists to round out Hazleton's top efforts in the loss. 

Next up: It's back to PSUAC competition for the remainder of the season. Hazleton will square off with Penn State Schuylkill on Saturday, December 10 at 3:00 p.m. which will conclude play for the fall semester.