BOLIVIA, N.C., December 16, 2022 – The No. 15-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team had an efficient afternoon on both ends of the court on Saturday, defeating Richard Bland College, 86-57, on the second day of the Brunswick Community College Holiday Classic. Monroe improves to 12-2 overall with their second straight win, while the Statesmen fall to 9-6.
The Mustangs quickly doubled up the Statesmen with a 10-5 lead through the first 3:17, which included a pair of threes by
Keith Warren Jr. Melvin Council Jr. drained a three on back-to-back possessions, and then the Mustangs added another six points after that to take a 26-11 advantage over the Statemen midway through the first. Late in the half, the Mustangs turned a 14-point lead into a 21-point lead with seven points in the final minute. Richard Bland's Eric Wood added a layup at the buzzer, but the Mustangs took a 45-26 edge into the break.
Council had a big first half, totaling 16 points with three steals. Warren made a trio of threes to score nine in the first 20 minutes.
Jawarie Hamelin had five assists at the break, while
Emmanuel Ogbole pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
The Mustangs got off to a hot start, scoring the first eight points of the second half, including threes by Council and
Tyje Kelton, to take a 53-26 lead. Ogbole later contribute six points on a 7-0 run that made it a 60-33 game. The threes kept falling, as Warren and
Albert Vargas both hit from long distance as part of a 10-2 run that made it a 31-point lead for Monroe with 9:51 to play. The teams went back-and-forth for the rest of the game, with Monroe scoring five of the final seven points in the game for a 29-point victory.
Council finished with a game-high 19 points in the win. Warren made four from beyond the arc to total 12 points in the game. Kelton contributed 11 points with three boards and four assists. Ogbole was a rebound away from a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Hamelin dished out eight assists to lead the team on Saturday.
Nikola Danicic tallied eight points off the bench, while
Zatai Townsend and
Ziare Wells each scored seven. Wells also pulled down six boards.
The Mustangs shot an outstanding 57.4 percent (31-of-54) from the field on Saturday, including 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from three-point range. The Mustangs took advantage of Richard Bland's turnovers with 33 points off turnovers compared to just 15 for the Statemen. The Mustangs also scored 36 points in the paint, while Richard Bland managed just 14. The Mustangs' reserves also contributed in a big way with a 34-18 advantage in bench points.
Monroe closes out the weekend, and the 2022 portion of their schedule, on Sunday, Dec. 18, when they take on Cape Fear Community College. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 11 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 Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
