New Rochelle, N.Y. – It was a good weekend for the Monroe College Men's Basketball team, who opened the 2016-17 campaign with a pair of wins over Genesee Community College and Richard Bland College.  The Mustangs defeated the Cougars, 81-75, on Friday and the Statesmen, 62-48, on Sunday at the Monroe College Tournament.
 
On Friday, Monroe used a strong first half to gain control of the game against Genesee.  With the score tied at 14-14, the Mustangs used a 5-0 run to pull ahead, 19-14.  The Cougars fought back in the rest of the half, and the score seesawed back-and-forth.  Eventually, with 1:17 left to the half and Monroe leading 37-36, the Mustangs got a three-pointer from Clifton Tracey and a layup from Felix Carlsson to take a 42-36 lead.
 
A Dani Koljanin foul shot with just 10 minutes left gave Monroe its biggest lead of the game (61-47).  The Cougars spent the rest of the game trying to chip away at the deficit.  Genesee was able to narrow the lead to six points, but the Mustangs held on for the 81-75 win.  In the victory, Koljanin scored a game-high 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting.  Carlsson went 7-11 from the field and totaled 16 points.  Tyler Ancrum had 11 points and 9 assists, and Bryan Assie grabbed 10 rebounds.  Donald Butler scored 10 points in a reserve role.
 
Monroe swept the weekend on Sunday, defeating Richard Bland College, 62-48.  The Mustangs led by ten points at halftime, 33-23, and eventually pushed the lead to 17 on a three-pointer by Hampus Ahlin in the second half.  Ahlin finished with 22 points.  In his first start of the year, Jarron Chapman scored a dozen points.
 
The Monroe College Men's Basketball team will return to action on Friday, November 18^th, at 4:00 PM. They will face Northern Virginia in the opening game of the Legends Classic, hosted by Baltimore City Community College.