FORT MYERS, Fla., December 9, 2023 – After a couple tough games down in Florida, the Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team will head home on a positive note, picking up a gritty 71-67 victory over Miami Dade College in the Mustangs' final game at the FSW Classic at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. The Mustangs improve to 8-4 overall with the win, while the Sharks drop to 6-5.
The Mustangs immediately got hot from long range to open Saturday's contest. After Miami Dade's Jakobe Stozier got the scoring started with a three,
Ziare Wells,
Stefano Faloppa and
Albert Vargas each drained threes on Monroe's next three possessions to put the Mustangs up, 9-3. The Sharks pushed themselves back within two at 16-14, but the Mustangs scored on three straight trips down the court expand the lead to 22-14.
A basket by Miami Dade made it a six-point game, but the lead stretched to 10 after Faloppa and
Devere Palmer Jr. hit back-to-back jumpers. A three by Vargas with 3:38 to play in the half had Monroe on top, 31-20, but the Sharks came back with two straight long balls to cut the deficit to five. The Mustangs scored the next four to keep their distance, but Miami Dade closed out the half with a 6-0 run across the final 43 seconds to drop Monroe's lead to 35-32 heading into halftime.
Faloppa had a big first half for the Mustangs, leading the team with 13 points and four rebounds through 20 minutes. Vargas had six points to go with three assists and three boards. Wells added five more points.
Both teams came out firing in the second half, trading baskets back-and-forth to keep it a close game. The Mustangs later got a pair of threes from Vargas and
Jawarie Hamelin to take a 48-41 edge, but Miami Dade's John Latimer and Ibrahim Zahran both followed with treys of their own to make it a one-point game. After Wells hit 1-of-2 from the line, Latimer came down the court and hit another three-pointer to put the Sharks ahead, 50-49, with 13:04 on the clock.
The Mustangs did not let things get away from them, trading the lead back-and-forth with the Sharks over the next few minutes. After the game eventually reached a 58-58 stalemate with 7:10 to play, the Mustangs scored eight straight to take a 66-58 advantage with 3:52 to go. After Monroe took a 68-60 lead, the Sharks scored the next five to make it a three-point game, but Wells helped the Mustangs pull away again with a clutch three. Miami Dade picked up two points their next time down the court, but the Mustangs were able to keep the Sharks off the board for the final 48 seconds of the game to hang on for the four-point victory.
Wells just missed a double-double with team highs of 18 points and nine rebounds in the win. Faloppa was close behind with 15 points, seven boards and a team-leading six assists. Hamelin tallied 11 points with five assists and three steals.
Hassan Washington provided 10 points and five rebounds off the bench in the win. Vargas scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds to go with four assists.
The Mustangs shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the field in the win, and outrebounded the Sharks, 37-26. Monroe also ended up shooting 50 percent (10-of-20) from three-point range in the game.
The Mustangs get a couple weeks off before taking another big road trip. Beginning on Thursday, Dec. 28, the Mustangs will compete in the Wake Tech Holiday Classic, hosted by Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, N.C. Monroe opens play in the tournament against Brunswick Community College on the 28th at 3:30 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).
