WEST CHESTER, Pa., February 28, 2020 – It could easily be called the game of the year, and fortunately, it came with a happy ending, as the Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team battled for a 90-87 victory over Harcum College in double overtime at West Chester University to claim the 2020 NJCAA Region XV Division I Men's Basketball Championship Friday evening. The win represents Monroe's second straight region title, and advances the Mustangs to the East District Championship.
 
The Mustangs will now host the 2020 NJCAA East District Championship game on Saturday, March 7, at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs will take on the winner of Region XX, which will be determined on Sunday, March 1.
 
For their efforts, Juan Felix Rodriguez, Elijah Mitchell and Marcus Thompson were all selected to the All-Tournament Team, while Rodriguez was picked as the Region XV Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player.
 
The Bears had an early edge when five straight points put them up, 10-6, but the Mustangs responded with three straight buckets to jump into the lead. Monroe was later able to take a 24-19 edge after a three by Akeem Tate, but the Bears quickly closed the gap to tie it up at 24-24 with 6:24 left in the first half.
 
Rodriguez and Mitchell hit a layup and a three, respectively, to make it a five-point Mustang lead. After two free throws by Dom London, the Mustangs scored the next nine points, making it a 14-2 run that put the visitors ahead, 38-26. Unfortunately, that was it for the Mustangs in the first half, as they did not score another point over the final 2:46. Nykie Jackson and Brent Price hit back-to-back threes for the Bears, and then Khalif Meares finished off the half with a pair of foul shots, leaving the Mustangs up, 38-34, heading into the break.
 
Rodriguez led all scorers with 12 points at the half, and led the Mustangs with three assists. Mitchell followed with eight points and a team-high three steals. Jabari Merritt pulled down five rebounds to lead the team at the half.
 
The Bears scored the first three points of the second half to get within a point, but the home team was unable to tie the game. Six straight points by the Mustangs later in the half gave Monroe a 55-46 advantage. Jackson and Hafeez Melvin scored the next four points for Harcum to make it a five-point game, but Tobias Perkovic laid one in to push the lead back to seven with 5:41 to play.
 
Three straight free throws by Meares got Harcum back within four points. Jackson then scored two more points for the Bears, cutting the deficit to two with 2:47 to play. Melvin then got to the line, but only made 1-of-2, keeping the Mustangs up by a point. Thompson then made a crucial layup with just 1:32 to go to put the Mustangs back up by three. Channick Nkoma followed with a two for Harcum, but Thompson once again came through with a layup to make it a three-point game with 1:03 remaining.
 
Meares then went to the charity stripe and made both chances to once again make it a one-point game at 64-63 with 50.1 to go. After an offensive foul on the Mustangs, Jackson scored for Harcum to put the Bears up for the first time in the second half. Meares then fouled out of the game and sent Rodriguez to the line, where he made only his second shot to tie the game at 65. Dom London drew a foul for the Bears and made both of his shots to put the Bears back up by two with 28.4 remaining. After a missed shot by Monroe, Merritt came down with the offensive board and drew a foul. He made both shots, tying the game at 67. The Mustangs were able to lock down on defense for the final possession, forcing a bad shot that did not go, sending the game to overtime.
 
The Bears opened up the extra period with its first four points, but the Mustangs responded with a quick four of their own to tie it right back up at 71-71. Jackson hit a contested layup under the rim to put Harcum back in the lead, but Zion Styles drained a three from the far corner, putting the Mustangs up, 74-73, with 1:20 left in overtime. Price scored after a timeout for Harcum, but Thompson came right back down the court and scored to give the Mustangs the lead once again. The Mustangs then got a stop, and Rodriguez was fouled, leading to him making 1-of-2 chances to put the Mustangs up, 77-75, with 13.1 seconds on the scoreboard. Price came down the court and scored to tie the game with just a couple seconds left, and the Mustangs were unable to get a good shot off, sending the game to another overtime period tied, 77-77.
 
Thompson made the first points of double overtime, sinking two free throws to put the Mustangs ahead, 79-77. Rodriguez then made a jumper on Monroe's next possession to put the Mustangs ahead by four. Jackson drew a foul and made both shots to get within two, and then the Bears got a stop, leading to another Mustang foul and Brennen making 1-of-2 to leave the Mustangs ahead, 81-80. Merritt then followed up an offensive board with a good layup, putting the Mustangs ahead by three. Thompson then fouled out for Monroe, and Brennen made both shots to make it a one-point game with 3:10 remaining.
 
Rodriguez came right back down the court and sank a layup to put the Mustangs ahead by three. Jackson was able to score two possessions later for the Bears to once again get within one. After two big offensive rebounds that took significant chunks of time off the clock, Rodriguez made a huge shot from inside the paint to leave the Mustangs up, 87-84, with 49.5 on the clock.
 
The Bears missed a three, and then Styles came sprinting down the court for a slam dunk in traffic to give Monroe a five-point edge with just about 20 seconds remaining. Rodriguez then came up with a big steal, and hit one of his two chances after being fouled to put the Mustangs up by six. London then kept the Bears' hopes alive by making a three with 7.7 left to go. Rodriguez was unable to make two free-throw chances after being fouled, but the Mustangs did not let the Bears get a good shot off, hearing the buzzer sound with a three-point lead to send Monroe home as region champions.
 
Thompson and Rodriguez both had huge days for the Mustangs on Friday. Thompson registered a double-double with 22 points and an impressive 19 rebounds, while Rodriguez also completed a double-double with 27 points and 10 boards, falling just short of a triple-double with nine assists. Merritt just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Mitchell finished with 10 points for the Mustangs. Styles added seven points and seven boards, while he and Mitchell tied for the team lead with four steals apiece.
 
The Mustangs got a significant boost under the rim, out-rebounding the Bears, 61-35, while outscoring them on second-chance points, 21-4. Monroe also held a 52-32 advantage on points in the paint, while the Mustangs bench provided 45 points compared to just 15 for the Bears' reserves.
 
The Mustangs now await their East District Championship opponent from Region XX. The Region XX Championship Tournament begins on Saturday, Feb. 29, with Harford Community College taking on Allegany College of Maryland. The winner will play top-seeded Hagerstown Community College on Sunday, March 1, for the region title, and the right to take on Monroe in the district championship.
 
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).