BALTIMORE, Md., November 19, 2017 – After a tight back-and-forth contest throughout, the Monroe College men's basketball team fell just short in the Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) Tournament finale on Sunday, as the Mustangs were defeated by the host Panthers on a buzzer-beating tip-in to fall by a score of 68-66. The Mustangs fall to 3-2 on the season with the defeat, while BCCC improves to 3-1.
 
The Mustangs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in Sunday's contest, but BCCC came back to take a 12-11 lead by the 12:56 mark. Nukoy Singleton then dropped one in off the glass, and Isaiah Ward followed with a three to put Monroe ahead, 17-11. Thomas Binelli followed that up with another long ball of his own, pushing the Mustang lead to nine, before Jhery Matos added two more on a fast break to make it a 22-11 Mustang edge at the 10:10 mark.
 
Monroe's lead grew 13 with 7:57 until the half, but the Panthers scored five straight to get back within eight. The home team's rally continued throughout the remainder of the half, scoring the final four points of the frame to leave Monroe ahead, 37-33, heading into the locker room.
 
The Mustangs held a slight edge for the first five minutes of the new half, but the Panthers managed to tie things up at 40-40 with 14:32 left to play. The game was tied up at 53-53 at the 8:52 mark before BCCC's Malik Winston made a layup to put the home team in the lead. Ward then followed with a big three for the Mustangs, pushing them back in the lead. The Panthers later took their largest lead of the half after Shaquyl Diboti-Lobe's layup put them ahead, 59-56. Bryan Assie and Singleton each made one-of-two free throws to get back within one, and then Matos hit a layup, and added another point after drawing a foul on the play, to put the Mustangs back in the lead at 61-59 with 5:02 left in regulation.
 
Viktor Okafor made a layup for the Panthers to tie the game up at 61, but Matos found his way back to the line, making one to take the lead again. Assie then added another layup to make it a three-point game, but Malik Marrow responded with a quick jumper for the Panthers. Assie added one more layup at the 49-second mark to push Monroe's lead to three, but Scott Harrelson hit a big trey for the Panthers to tie the game with 40 seconds left. The Mustangs were unable to convert on their next chance, giving the Panthers the ball for one final shot. Harrelson went for the winner, and could not get it to go, but Ed Oliver-Hampton found his way through the crowd and rose toward the rim, tipping the ball back into the net as the buzzer sounded for the win.
 
Assie finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds on Sunday. Matos just missed a double-double of his own, scoring 15 points with nine rebounds, as well as three assists. Ward matched his 15 points after going 3-of-5 from long range, adding a pair of steals.
 
Monroe will hit the road again next weekend, as the Mustangs compete in the Hagerstown Community College Holiday Classic in Hagerstown, Md. They will open the weekend on Saturday, Nov. 25, against host Hagerstown, with a 3 p.m. tip-off.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, will have six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level beginning in the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).