VINCENNES, Ind., November 10, 2023 – The No. 25-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team successfully avenged their defeat from last year's NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Championship Second Round against eventual champion John A. Logan College, as the Mustangs defeated the No. 4-ranked Volunteers, 64-56, Friday evening in their first matchup of the 2023 McDonald's Classic at Vincennes College. The Mustangs improve to 2-1 on the season with the win, while the Volunteers drop to 0-3.
The Mustangs got off to a scorching hot start against the defending champs on Friday. The first possession of the game saw
Albert Vargas take it away and set up
Jawarie Hamelin for a fast-break dunk to set the tone early. Monroe had a 6-5 lead before Hamelin sank a three.
Ziare Wells later threw one down off a steal by
Hassan Washington, and then the Mustangs once again stole it from the Volunteers, seeing Hamelin feed Wells for yet another slam to make it a 13-5 game. Logan's Caden Hawkins hit a three trying to halt the Mustangs' momentum, but Monroe fired back with a 10-2 run to take a 23-10 advantage on the Vols with 8:56 left in the first half.
After a two by the Volts, Hamelin made a layup to go up by 13 again. After 85 seconds without a score, Wells drained a high-arching three, followed by a steal by Wells and a layup by Vargas to make it an 18-point Mustang lead. The Vols got to the line, but Elliot Lowndes only made 1-of-2. The Mustangs followed with six straight points, pushing their lead to 23 points at 36-13. The Volunteers found a bit of a rhythm down the stretch, going on a 12-2 run to make it a 13-point game at 38-25 to close out the half.
Hamelin and Wells both finished the first half with nine points apiece. Hamelin led the team with four rebounds and four steals, while Hamelin, Wells, Vargas and
Stefano Faloppa all had three assists in the half. The Mustangs shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from the field in the half to help them get the lead.
Washington made the first basket of the second half to put Monroe back up by 15. Both teams were locking each other down for a couple minutes before the Volunteers scored five straight to cut the deficit to 10. The Mustangs halted the Vols' run, scoring the next six points to bring the lead back to 16 at 46-30. After two for the Vols, a steal and a dunk by
Devere Palmer Jr., followed by a layup the next time down the court by
Zatai Townsend had the Mustangs ahead by 18 with 11:41 to play.
The teams were trading baskets back-and-forth until a 9-1 run by the Volunteers cut the deficit down to eight at 57-49 with under four minutes left in regulation. Faloppa got fouled and made both his shots to make it a 10-point game again, but the Volunteers picked up the next four to cut Monroe's lead to just six points. After a miss by Volunteers, Vargas came quickly down the court and laid it in, making it a 61-53 score with just 1:06 on the clock. RJ Walker hit a three for Logan to make it a five-point game. Hamelin was later sent to the line with 22 seconds left, making both chances to stretch the lead to seven. After another stop, Vargas was fouled, making 1-of-2 to bring the score 64-56. The Mustangs forced one more miss by the Vols, allowing the clock to expire to wrap up the upset victory.
Four Mustangs finished in double figures on Friday, led by Wells' 13 points. Hamelin finished with 12 points, adding a team-high eight steals along with six rebounds and three assists. Vargas tallied 11 points with five steals and four assists, while Townsend netted 10 points of his own. Faloppa scored eight in the game, pulling down a team-high seven boards while leading the team in assists with five.
The Mustangs took advantage of Logan's turnovers in the game, scoring 29 points off turnovers compared to just 15 for the Volunteers. Monroe also dominated the paint with a 42-10 advantage from in-close.
With a big win now in-hand, the Mustangs will look to close out the weekend with another on Saturday, Nov. 11. Monroe is set to take on No. 6 Vincennes tomorrow evening, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven 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).
