BEL AIR, Md., January 12, 2023 – After falling behind by eight points early in Thursday's contest, the No. 12-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team turned things around in a big way, erasing the deficit before the half and then putting together a huge second frame to defeat Harford, 89-62, at APG Federal Credit Union Arena. The Mustangs improve to 17-2 with their seventh straight victory, while the Fighting Owls fall to 8-9.
The Mustangs fell into an early hole on Thursday, as the Fighting Owls took a 19-11 lead with 12:11 left in the first half. The Mustangs narrowed the gap with five straight, but a three by Harford's Maseo Carson pushed the deficit back to six. A six-point run for Monroe shortly after put the Mustangs in the lead, 24-23. After Harford tied the game at 26-26, the Mustangs rattled off five straight to take a 31-26 edge with 4:10 remaining in the half. The Mustangs pushed that lead out to seven in the final seconds before Jalyn Hickman hit a layup with three seconds left for Harford to send the game to the break with Monroe ahead, 36-31.
Melvin Council Jr. had 11 points and six rebounds in the first half for the Mustangs.
Hamdel Mohammed added 10 points, while
Nikola Danicic provided six off the bench.
The Mustangs opened the second half on a 9-0 run, taking a 14-point edge and never looking back. A 10-0 run shortly after had the Mustangs on top, 62-37. The Mustangs then got hot from long range, draining four three-pointers as part of a 16-0 stretch that gave Monroe its largest lead of the night at 39 points with 7:08 to play. Harford put together 13 straight points late in the contest, but it was not enough to get the home team back in the game, as Monroe held on for the 89-62 win.
Council finished with a game-high 26 points in the win, leading the Mustangs with four steals as well. Mohammed tallied 14 points with six boards and a pair of blocked shots.
Ziare Wells tacked on 10 points with three assists.
Tyje Kelton led the team with seven rebounds to go with six points.
Zatai Townsend picked up eight points off the bench.
The Mustangs held a 39-28 edge in rebounds on Thursday, while outscoring the Fightings Owls in the paint, 32-8. Depth played a factor in the game, as Monroe's bench outscored Harford's, 32-16. 16 offensive boards also helped Monroe pick up 17 second-chance points. The Mustangs took advantage Harford's 21 turnovers with a 26-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Mustangs now return home for the weekend, when they host the annual Monroe College MLK Classic at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs' first game of the weekend will take place on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they close out the day with a 6 p.m. tip-off against Essex County College.
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).
