SCRANTON, Pa., February 1, 2024 – After 40 minutes of neck-and-neck basketball lead to overtime on Thursday in Scranton, the Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team stepped up in the extra period, defeating Lackawanna College, 82-73. The Mustangs make it nine straight wins to improve to 18-5 on the season, while the Falcons drop to 8-11.
Neither team was able to find any wiggle room throughout the first and second half on Thursday. Monroe led by as many as five points late in the first half, but the Falcons closed out the frame with a three to cut Monroe's lead to 40-38 heading into the break.
The Mustangs led by six points early in the second frame, but it was short-lived, as the two teams traded small leads back-and-forth. Lackawanna went up by four with just over five minutes to play, but the Mustangs were able to keep the game from getting away. The Falcons had a two-point lead with 1:07 to go, but
Stefano Faloppa got to the line and made both of his chances to tie the game up and eventually send it to overtime at 66-66.
It took nearly two minutes before either team could get on the board in overtime, with Lackawanna going to the line to take a two-point edge.
Hassan Washington then scored the next four points to put the Mustangs ahead. After some more back-and-forth that saw Monroe hold a 74-73 lead, it was all Mustangs in the final 59 seconds. A jumper by
Zatai Townsend made it a three-point game, and then both
Ziare Wells and Faloppa went 2-for-2 from the line to go up by seven.
Ryan Williams Jr. nailed a jumper with 20 seconds left for good measure, as the 8-0 run helped the Mustangs close out a nine-point overtime victory over the Falcons.
Faloppa had one of his best games as a Mustang on Thursday, totaling 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Townsend was right behind with 15 points.
Albert Vargas and Washington each scored 11 points in the game, adding six and four rebounds, respectively. Wells came off the bench to total 10 points with five boards.
The Mustangs are back at home at the Monroe Athletic Complex this coming Thursday, Feb. 8, to host Baltimore City Community College. Thursday's tip-off is set for 6 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).
