NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., January 12, 2024 – One night after a tough road victory over Manhattanville College JV, the Monroe College Mustangs JV men's basketball team made it a home-and-home sweep on Friday at the Monroe Athletic Complex, holding on in the final seconds to secure a 78-76 victory over the Valiants. The Mustangs improve to 9-7 overall with the win.
 
An early 9-0 run by the Mustangs put them up, 13-3, on the Valiants with 14:57 on the clock in the first half. A 6-2 run by Manhattanville forced Monroe to take a timeout, and then Jordan Sanders drained a three coming out of the break to put the Mustangs back up by nine. The Valiants responded with another six straight points to get within three. Manhattanville's Neven Noor got hot, making four straight baskets for the Valiants to help them draw within four. The Mustangs then scored seven straight, including a three by Christian Castro, to push the lead back to 11.
 
The Valiants would not go away, scoring the next six points to get back within five, but the Mustangs scored six of the next eight to make it a nine-point game with 2:30 to play in the half. That was the last time the Mustangs scored in the half, with the Valiants added four more points to send the game to halftime with Monroe ahead, 36-31.
 
Sanders led the Mustangs with 10 points through the first 20 minutes of Friday's game. Carey Grace-Joy added five points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Castro and Milljean Valencia both matched Sanders with two assists apiece to lead the team at the half.
 
The two teams totaled 55 points through the first 10 minutes of the second half, going back-and-forth throughout that time to leave Monroe up, 59-53, with 9:50 on the clock. The Valiants then began to make their push, using a six-point run to make it a 65-63 game in favor of the Mustangs, but Grace-Joy kept the Mustangs on top with a three. Manhattanville kept its momentum going, scoring seven straight to go up for the first time in the game, 70-68, with 4:15 to play.
 
De'Angelo Owens scored off an inbounds while being fouled, executing a three-point play to put the Mustangs back up, 71-70. After a takeaway, Grace-Joy hit a three from the corner to push the lead to four. The Mustangs then went quiet for two minutes, allowing the Valiants to score four straight to tie the game heading into the final minute.
 
Owens made a layup through contact to put the Mustangs on top, but Manny Udeagha managed to tie it up with 33 seconds left. Owens came through again with 17.1 seconds, scoring another tough layup to make it a 78-76 lead for Monroe. Manhattanville's Zach Garrant got a clean look under the rim on a quick play, but his shot did not fall and was tipped out of bounds by Monroe. Udeagha then drew a foul for the Valiants, but missed the first shot. The Valiants then committed a lane violation on the second shot to give the ball back to Monroe. Owens was fouled, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one, allowing the Valiants to get it back with 5.1 on the clock. The Valiants rushed across the half-court line and called timeout again. Off the inbound, the Valiants got an errant shot off, falling short of the rim as the buzzer sounded to secure the two-point victory for Monroe.
 
Owens led the Mustangs with 18 points in the win, adding seven rebounds and four steals. Grace-Joy was right behind him with 17 points, narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds. Turone Kelly produced 13 points, while Sanders totaled 11 with a team-high five assists in just 19 minutes on the court. Clinton Johnson led the team with eight rebounds in the game.
 
The Mustangs are on the road this Sunday, Jan. 14, when they visit Washington Adventist University JV in Takoma Park, Md. Sunday's tip-off is set for 2 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). Read Full Article