Niceville, FL – The Monroe University men's basketball team suffered another close loss in its two-game Florida trip, falling to No. 7 Northwest Florida State College, 68-62.
After a 30-30 first half and leading by as much as 11 in the second half, the Mustangs couldn't come away with back-to-back victories over the nationally-ranked Raiders in consecutive seasons.
Sophomore
Naceiar Kirksey led the way with 14 points, while fellow sophomore
Nick Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Freshman
Nico Pena garnered his first career start and provided solid production (11 points on 5-for-11 shooting) across his 28 minutes of play.
Pena was the major contributor in the first half, scoring a team-high seven points on an efficient 3-for-4 mark. Sophomore
Jago Robinson and Williams followed suit with six first half points.
A strong first half segued into a ferocious start to the second period as Monroe turned a 30-30 tie into 50-39 lead just under the midway point of the half. Sophomore
Faquir Mosley supplied six points during the 20-9 run for the Mustangs.
But the tides began to shift following the ten-minute mark as the Raiders found ways to get to the line. From the 10:51 mark to the 5:12 mark, Northwest Florida tallied eight made free throws to climb back into the game and take a 54-53 lead.
With 38 seconds left, Pena made it a two-point game on the fast break after a steal by Williams. But free throws once again told the story as the Raiders found the bottom of the net four more times from the charity stripe to close out the contest.
Monroe will host Dawson Community College on Friday at 6:00 pm as they return to New Rochelle.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe University 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.MonroeUMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
