NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., March 4, 2023 – In the final regular-season contest for the No. 19-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team, the Mustangs took care of business, defeating Covenant College Prep, 107-62, on Saturday at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs finish the regular season with a 26-4 overall record.
The Mustangs got off to a slow start, seeing Covenant take an early 7-4 lead. The Mustangs then got hot from three-point range, with their next six buckets coming from long range on what ended up as a 21-6 run for Monroe to take a 25-13 edge. Covenant bounced back with nine straight points to get within three, but baskets by
Ziare Wells and
Stefano Faloppa gave the Mustangs a seven-point cushion. It was a four-point game after a Chad Anglin layup for Covenant, but the Mustangs scored the next seven to push the lead to 11 with 30 seconds left. After a couple free throws for Anglin,
Keith Warren Jr. produced a three-point play with less than a second left, sending the game to the half with Monroe on top, 43-31.
Warren made a trio of threes in the first half, totaling 12 points across the first 20 minutes to lead the team at the break. Wells added seven points.
Emmanuel Ogbole pulled down a team-high five rebounds to go with four points and two blocks.
Melvin Council Jr. scored just two points but helped out with a team-high four assists.
The Mustangs found a spark in the locker room at halftime, coming out of the gate with 14 straight points to take a quick 57-31 advantage on Covenant in the second half. The Mustangs kept rolling, doubling up Covenant, 68-34, with 13:39 still left on the clock. With just under six minutes to play, a pair of
Hamdel Mohammed free throws once again had the Mustangs doubling up Covenant with the score reaching 94-47. The Mustangs' lead peaked at 51 points when a layup by Wells put Monroe up, 105-54, leading to the 107-62 final.
Warren played a great game after starting Saturday's contest, leading the team with 20 points with five three-pointers. Wells was next with 19 points after going 8-of-10 from the field.
Tyje Kelton totaled 13 points and six rebounds in the win.
Stefano Faloppa produced 12 points off the bench. Mohammed finished with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds in the game.
The Mustangs shot 54.9 percent (39-of-71) from the field in the win. They outrebounded Covenant, 42-27, and outscored them in the paint, 40-18.
The Mustangs will host next weekend's NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball East District Championship tournament at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The tournament will feature Monroe, Harcum College, and the winner and runner-up of this weekend's Region 20 Championship tournament. The semifinal round of the tournament will take place on Friday, March 10, with games at 4:30 and 7 p.m. The championship game will be played on Saturday, March 11, at 2 p.m.
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).
