NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 10, 2024 – A season-best offensive performance was on the menu Wednesday evening for the Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team, as the Mustangs set a new season-high in scoring with a 111-45 victory at the Monroe Athletic Complex over Roxbury Community College, featuring eight Mustangs in double figures. Monroe improves to 13-5 with the win, while the Tigers drop to 5-11.
Ryan Williams Jr. led the Mustangs with 16 points and 10 rebounds to register his first career double-double.
Ziare Wells was right behind him with 15 points in the win, adding three assists and four rebounds.
Devere Palmer Jr. added 14 points with five boards and four assists.
Making his first start of the season,
Manuel Peral went 4-of-5 from three-point range en route to a 12-point, eight-assist performance on Wednesday.
Bre'Quan Moore produced season-highs of 12 points and eight rebounds in the game.
Albert Vargas had 11 points with seven assists and four boards.
Pedro Szuldman netted a season-high 10 points to go with five assists.
Hassan Washington also hit 10 points in the game.
The Mustangs needed a few minutes to feel the Tigers out in Wednesday's contest, but after a 9-9 stalemate, the Mustangs rattling off nine straight points to double-up the Tigers. Jaron Bennett got the Tigers back on the board with a jumper, but the Mustangs kept the momentum going with a 13-0 run to take a commanding 31-11 lead just 10 minutes into the game.
Szuldman later drained a three to push the lead to 22 points. Shortly after, Peral sank his second three of the half to make it a 43-18 lead for Monroe with 4:39 left until the half. That run turned into 15 straight points for the Mustangs, eventually leading to them taking a 55-20 advantage at the break.
Ziare Wells scored a team-high 11 points to lead 10 different scorers across the first 20 minutes. Vargas was next with seven points. Peral, Williams, Palmer and Washington each tallied six points in the first half. Williams produced a team-high seven rebounds, while Peral dished out six assists to lead the way.
The Mustangs stayed in rhythm in the second half, quickly pushing the lead to 41 points with 16:26 still left to play. Back-to-back long balls by Peral, and a layup by Moore moments later had Monroe up, 73-26, on the Tigers. Szuldman and Williams later went back-to-back from beyond the arc to make it a 52-point game with 12:49 left on the clock.
A 10-0 run for the Mustangs pushed the lead to 65 points at 96-31 with 7:11 to play. A layup by Moore pushed Monroe over the century mark with a 101-35 advantage. Palmer, Moore and
Isiah Middleton scored on three straight possessions for the Mustangs in the final 2:25 to help the Mustangs reach 111 points and close out the 66-point victory.
Monroe shot 61.5 percent (48-of-78) from the field in the win, including 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from three-point range. The Mustangs outrebounded the Tigers, 49-20, and turned the ball over just three times while taking the ball away 15 times. The Mustangs held a 62-16 edge in points in the paint and a 57-10 advantage in bench points in the win.
The Mustangs take a four-game winning streak into this weekend's
Monroe College MLK Classic at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs open the two-day invitational on Saturday, Jan. 13, with a 7 p.m. matchup against Niagara County Community College.
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).
