NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 29, 2020 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team dropped a Region XV matchup at the Monroe Athletic Complex to ASA College, 75-71, Wednesday evening. The Mustangs drop to 15-9 overall and 0-2 in region play with the loss, while the Avengers improve to 8-9 and 1-0.
 
The Mustangs and Avengers traded the lead back-and-forth over the first eight minutes before a 6-1 run by Monroe gave the home team a 21-17 lead. The Mustangs led, 32-27, with 5:52 left in the half, but the Avengers scored the next 13 points to take a 40-32 advantage with 1:04 left before the break. The Mustangs' drought came to a half when Marcus Thompson made the second of two foul shots, but the Mustangs trailed, 40-33, heading into halftime.
 
Elijah Mitchell led Monroe with 11 points and three steals after 20 minutes. Julio Pascual and Marcus Thompson matched for a team-high five rebounds. Juan Felix Rodriguez and Luis Herrera each added six points.
 
The early portion of the second half saw both teams score back-and-forth, as the Avengers held on to a 50-43 lead with 14:49 on the clock. An 8-0 run for the Mustangs put them back on top, 51-50, with 11:34 left to play. The Avengers turned things around and went on a 9-1 run to go up, 59-52, just two minutes later. After ASA took a 66-60 lead with 5:47 to play, Monroe scored the next six points to tie the game with three minutes to go.
 
Jahmier Pugh quickly made a layup for the Avengers, but Zion Styles came storming right back down the court to tie the game once again. Pugh hit another layup while falling to the floor with 53 seconds on the clock to put ASA back in the lead. Julio Pascual made the second of two free throws to get within one, but Pugh got to the line and made both chances to put the Avengers up by three. Styles then made a put-back layup with 26 seconds remaining to get Monroe back within a point. Pugh was able to get to the line on the next two Avenger possessions, making 3-of-4 to put the visitors ahead by four with just 14 seconds left, leading to the final score of 75-71.
 
Mitchell and Juan Felix Rodriguez tied for the team lead with 17 points in the game, with Rodriguez adding eight rebounds. Pascual scored three points but contributed defensively with team highs of nine rebounds and four blocks. Styles picked up 11 points off the bench in the game.
 
The Mustangs will get some time off before their next game on Wednesday, Feb. 5, when they host Our Saviour Lutheran at the Monroe Athletic Complex. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 31 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 12 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Mustangs), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).