NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 21, 2023 – It was not the start the No. 12-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team was looking for on Saturday, but the Mustangs picked up the momentum late in the first half and never looked back in an 86-68 victory over Lackawanna College at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs improve to 21-2 overall with their 11th straight win, while the Falcons fall to 11-5.
The Mustangs got off to a sluggish start in Saturday's contest, seeing the Falcons take an early 11-4 lead. The Mustangs stormed back with eight straight points to go back up, 12-11, but the Falcons turned things around again to go back up, 17-12. Eight straight points, including an emphatic slam dunk by
Ziare Wells, put Monroe back in the lead, 20-17, just past the midway point of the opening half.
Lackawanna's Aamir Mack scored on back-to-back possessions to put the Falcons back up by one. The Falcons managed to take a five-point lead when Nasir Brown hit a three with 5:07 to play in the half. The Mustangs showed a renewed energy after that three, with Wells hitting a long three, followed by an
Albert Vargas layup to tie the game. Nashawn Johnson hit a free throw to put Lackawanna back on top, but Vargas made a jumper to take the lead right back. Malek Mims scored two to put the visitors back on top, but it was all Mustangs for the final 2:18, as they scored the final seven points of the frame, including a pair of layups by
Melvin Council Jr. in the final 80 seconds to give Monroe a 40-34 advantage at the break.
Council had a team-high 10 points at the break. Wells tallied seven points, while Vargas picked up six.
Nikola Danicic and
Tyje Kelton matched with a team-high four rebounds through 20 minutes.
A back-and-forth start to the second half saw the Mustangs hanging onto a 50-44 lead with 15:17 on the clock. The Mustangs then gained some momentum, rattling off 13 straight points, capped off by a dunk from Council, to take a 63-44 advantage. After a three by Lackawanna's Malek Mims, the Mustangs scored the next five to push the lead to 21. The lead reached 26 points after a dunk by Mohammed made it an 80-54 game with 5:32 to play. The teams traded points down the stretch, with Lackawanna making a pair of threes for the final points of the game, seeing the Mustangs hang on for the 18-point victory.
Council led the Mustangs with 18 points on the afternoon. Wells followed with 16 of his own. Kelton tallied nine points with six rebounds and four steals. Mohammed and Vargas matched with eight points each on the day, while Vargas dished out a team-high five assists.
The Mustangs will have eight days to regroup before one of the two most important games remaining on the regular-season schedule. They will play next on Sunday, Jan. 29, when they visit Region foe, No. 22-ranked Harcum College, in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Tip-off is set for 2 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).
