NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 8, 2023 – The New Year has gotten off to a great start for the No. 12-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team, as the Mustangs made it a perfect weekend at the Monroe College Men's and Women's Mixer with a 77-67 victory over Div. II No. 17-ranked Howard Community College at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs improve to 15-2 overall with the win, while the Dragons drop to 12-3.
Both teams went back-and-forth early in the contest, reaching a 14-14 stalemate with 12:25 on the clock. With the game later tied up at 19-19, the Mustangs held the Dragons off the board for nearly four minutes, helping Monroe take a 24-19 edge. Another five-point run for Monroe had the Musatngs up, 29-21, with 2:12 left in the half. Trea Keys hit a three for Howard, but
Ziare Wells responded with one of his own to keep Monroe up by eight. Keys came down the court and hit another three, and then Howard got two more after a stop, sending the game to the half with the Mustangs on top, 32-29.
Melvin Council Jr. led the Mustangs with eight points and four assists at the break.
Keith Warren Jr. tallied six points.
Tyje Kelton added five points and a team-high four rebounds.
The back-and-forth continued early in the second half until a 5-0 run for Monroe put the Mustangs up, 48-38. The lead reached 14 points after yet another five-point run for the Mustangs, putting them up, 53-39, with 11:22 on the clock. The Mustangs got to the line a bunch in the second half, with three free throws putting them ahead, 58-45, with just 8:12 to play. Kelton and
Albert Vargas hit back-to-back threes, and then Kelton added another layup to push Monroe's lead to 70-52. The Mustangs did their best to run out the clock over the final five minutes, allowing the Dragons to get back within 10, but holding them off for the 77-67 victory.
Kelton completed a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Council led the team with 22 points, seven assists and five steals, narrowly missing a double-double with nine boards. Warren totaled 12 points on four three-pointers.
Stefano Faloppa contributed seven points off the bench.
The Mustangs shot over 50 percent from the field for the second time this weekend, making 28-of-55 shots in the win. Howard turned the ball over 22 times compared to just 16 for the Mustangs, and the Mustangs took advantage with a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers.
The Mustangs get a day off before kicking off a busy week on Tuesday, Jan. 10, with a late afternoon matchup at the MAC. The Mustangs will host Omnia Basketball Academy from Finland on Tuesday with a 4 p.m. scheduled tip-off.
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).
