NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., November 6, 2023 – A jam-packed Monroe Athletic Complex got to enjoy a season-opening victory for the No. 25-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team, as the Mustangs defeated Hostos Community College, 85-66, Monday evening in the team's 2023-24 debut. The Mustangs start the year 1-0, while the Caimans fall to 2-2.
The Mustangs wasted no time scoring their first points of the season, as
Zatai Townsend scored immediately off the opening tip. Both teams went quiet for nearly three minutes before
Ziare Wells threw down a dunk to wake the crowd back up and give Monroe a 4-2 lead. Hostos quickly tied the game back up, but the Mustangs finally found a rhythm, scoring seven straight to go up, 11-4, before the Caimans used a timeout.
The timeout was worthwhile for the visitors, as the Caimans went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 13-13.
Ryan Williams Jr. drained a three for the Mustangs to put them back on top, but Hostos responded with four straight to jump into the lead, but Williams came right back down the court and hit a jumper to put Monroe back on top. Hostos' TeAmo Ebron tied the game with a free throw, and then a layup by Tyrese Conway a minute later put Hostos back up, 20-18.
Albert Vargas got on the board with 4:15 left to tie the game at 20-20, but Ebron came right down the court and drained a three to give the Caimans a three-point lead. After
Isiah Middleton made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, the Mustangs got a stop, allowing Wells to come down the court and hit a three to put the Mustangs back in the lead. Hostos missed once again, and
Devere Palmer Jr. capitalized with a layup to make it a three-point Mustang lead with 2:46 left in the half.
Palmer made two from the line to make it a five-point game, and then another long ball by Wells put Monroe ahead by eight. Palmer then sank a layup off a pass from Vargas to give the Mustangs a 10-point advantage with just 37 seconds to play in the half. Evan Douglas-Vasquez made a three while being fouled for Hostos, but missed the ensuing free throw to lose his chance at a four-point play. Middleton got to the line for Monroe with just 11 seconds left, making both shots to go back up by nine. After one last stop, Middleton quickly got down the court and hit a layup, leaving the Mustangs up, 37-26, heading into the half.
Wells led all scorers with 12 points at the half, filling up the stat sheet with seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. Palmer added six points with four boards and a pair of assists. Middleton also had four rebounds to go with his five points. Vargas led the team with five assists at the break, contributing four points and a pair of rebounds as well.
The Mustangs came out of the half scorching hot. The two teams were trading baskets back-and-forth until the Mustangs scored eight straight, including threes by
Zatai Townsend and Vargas, making it a 51-36 game. Townsend and
Stefano Faloppa each made a three the next two times down the court to push the Mustangs' lead to 57-41.
Monroe's lead hit 23 points after Wells made a layup through contact, but after missing the free throw, Williams cleaned it up to put Monroe up, 66-43. The scoring slowed down after that, with just five total points scored over the next three minutes. The Mustangs were stuck at 68 points for five minutes before a pair of free throws by Williams made it a 70-55 game. The Caimans continued to chip away, cutting the deficit down to eight on a three-point play by Ebron with 4:51 to go in regulation.
Monroe regained its momentum when Williams had back-to-back fast-break slam dunks, making it a 76-64 game with 4:04 left. Wells made three foul shots on two different trips to the line with under three minutes to play to stretch Monroe's lead to 15 points. After a jumper by Hostos' Justin Umunakwe, Williams scored on an alley-oop from Vargas, and then stole the ball on the other end of the court and finished a fast break with a windmill dunk to push the lead to 17 with under a minute to go. Wells capped off a strong finish to the game with one more dunk to hit the final score of 85-66.
Wells got his sophomore season off to a hot start, registering his first double-double with the Mustangs with career highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds, as well as a career-high five assists in the win. Williams had a big night off the bench, scoring 20 points in 20 minutes to go with four steals and four boards. Townsend tallied 13 points with three assists in the game. Vargas dished out a career-high 10 assists to go with seven points and seven rebounds. Faloppa finished with nine points, six boards, four assists and two takeaways.
The Mustangs shot 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the field in the win, including 55.9 percent in the second half. They also made 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from the free-throw line. The Mustangs held Hostos to just 34.4 percent (22-of-64) shooting in the game. Monroe held a 49-40 edge in rebounds. Depth played a big role, as Monroe's reserves outscored Hostos' bench, 33-12. The Mustangs also had a big advantage in the paint, outscoring the Caimans from close-range, 44-24.
With one game in the books, the Mustangs will head to the Midwest later this week for one of the most challenging trips the program has ever taken. They will begin in Olney, Ill., on Thursday, Nov. 9, to take on Olney Central College at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET). They then head over to Vincennes, Ind., where they will compete in the 2023 McDonald's Classic, hosted by Vincennes University. They will play the defending NJCAA Champions, No. 4 John A. Logan College, on Friday, Nov. 10, followed by a matchup with No. 6 Vincennes on Saturday, Nov. 11.
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).
