NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y, December 20, 2017 – The Monroe Mustangs' JV men's basketball team fell to Our Saviour Lutheran Prep, 95-81, Wednesday at the Monroe Athletic Complex.
 
Though the Mustangs' opened an early 19-13 lead over the Falcons with just over 13 minutes to play in the first half, Our Saviour Lutheran responded with a 12-0 run to take a 28-20 lead.
 
The Falcons took the lead behind red-hot, first-half shooting from beyond the arc and took a six-point, 48-42 lead into halftime.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the second half, two buckets from Nolen Irby helped key a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to one with 16:12 to play. And just a few seconds later, Rakim Bryant's three-pointer, the first of the game for Monroe, tied the game at 54.
 
But the Falcons responded with two quick runs of their own to extend the Mustangs' deficit out to double digits with just over six minutes to play.
 
Another second-half run, again keyed by Irby, helped cut the deficit to single digits, but Our Saviour Lutheran was able to pull away in the end, taking home a 95-81 victory.
 
Marcus Thompson led the way for the Mustangs with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Irby added 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Javandre House also tallied double figures scoring a season-high 10 points.
 
The Mustangs shot 41.2 percent from the field, but couldn't find their range from beyond the arc, shooting just 2-for-11 on the day from three.
 
The Mustangs open their 2018 schedule on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m., heading to West Point, N.Y. to take on Army Prep.
 
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 Monroe's Bronx campus has six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level beginning with their inaugural seasons 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