Ocala, Fla. – The Monroe College men's basketball team closed out play at the Central Florida College Tournament in Ocala, Florida by splitting their last two contests.  They fell to St. Petersburg on Friday, 86-72, but rebounded to defeat Florida State – Jacksonville, 76-75.
 
Three Mustangs finished in double-figures against the Patriots led by Will Tavares, who scored a game-high 16 points on 5-9 shooting. He also paced the squad with nine rebounds and three assists.  Shackquiel Scott finished with a dozen, while Lukas Landgren scored ten points.
 
The game with Jacksonville saw Monroe build a 12-4 lead early in the game.  Hampus Ahlin opened the scoring with a three-pointer.  After a BlueWave bucket, Landgren made another trifecta.  Ahlin scored the next four points and Tavares closed the run with a layup.  The first half lead got up to ten points when Tyler Ancrum made a layup with 11:41 left.  Jacksonville fought back to take the lead and the game was tied at the half, 35-all.
 
The second half lead got as large as ten points for Monroe when Scott converted a free throw with 4:12 left to make the score, 71-61.  The BlueWave used the final four minutes to erase the lead, but the Mustangs sealed the game on a free throw by Ahlin with 0:07 remaining.
 
Ahlin led all scorers with 23 points.  Scott totaled 13 points, while Tavares had 12 and Landgren totaled ten.  Monroe dominated the points in the paint, outscoring the BlueWave, 18-12.
 
The Monroe College men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, November 18, when they host the Canaries Basketball Academy.  The opening tip from the MAC is slated for 7:00 PM