HAGERSTOWN, Md., November 25, 2023 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team made it back-to-back victories over Allegany College of Maryland and three straight wins overall on Saturday, defeating the Trojans, 77-71, on Day 1 of the Jim Brown Memorial Classic, hosted by Hagerstown Community College. The Mustangs improve to 5-2 overall with the win, while the Trojans drop to 6-2.
The Mustangs took a big lead on the Trojans over the first seven minutes, taking a 14-5 advantage early on. The Trojans then scored six straight to get back within three. Monroe had a 25-21 lead with 8:35 to play in the half, but the Trojans responded with another seven straight to go up, 28-25. The game was knotted up at 32-32 before the Mustangs rattled off the final eight points of the half, all coming from
Stefano Faloppa, to give Monroe a 40-32 edge at the break.
The Mustangs pushed their lead to 10 early in the second half after
Hassan Washington scored three straight. The Trojans responded with back-to-back threes and another two points on free throws to make it a 48-46 game. Back-to-back scores by Faloppa and
Ziare Wells later on had Monroe back up by five. The Mustangs had an eight-point lead before Allegany's Jason Thomas hit a three, but the Mustangs got a layup from
Jawarie Hamelin to make it a 63-56 lead with 7:17 to play.
A pair of layups by
Albert Vargas and
Devere Palmer Jr. had Monroe back up by 10 with just 4:17 on the block. The Trojans scored the next three, but Faloppa followed with a three-pointer for Monroe to make it a 70-60 game. Allegany then scored seven straight, drawing back within three points of the Mustangs with the clock reading 1:14. Palmer then halted Allegany's run with a jumper to make it a 72-67 score. A pair of free throws by the Trojans brought the score back within three. The Mustangs got to the line with 25 seconds remaining, where Palmer made both chances to push the lead back out to five, but Cam'Ron Brown came right down the court and made a layup for Allegany. The Mustangs were fouled again with just four seconds to go, seeing
Ziare Wells make 1-of-2. The Mustangs were then fouled again after Wells made the second, putting him back on the line where he made two more with just a second left to help Monroe hang on with a 77-71 victory.
Faloppa led the way with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double to lift the Mustangs on Saturday. He also had four assists. He was one of five Mustangs in double-digits on Saturday, with Wells and Palmer each tallying 12 points. Hamelin and Vargas both finished with 10 points apiece. Vargas dished out a team-high five assists.
The Mustangs will cap off the weekend against host Hagerstown on Sunday, Nov. 26. Tomorrow's tip-off is set for 1 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).
