NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., February 15, 2018 – Ghetty Allui tallied a career-high 26, but the Monroe Express men's basketball team fell short in their upset bid over eighth-ranked Nassau Community College by the final score of 87-75.
 
Though the Lions ended the first half on a 11-5 run, the Express held tough with Nassau through much of the first half, and trailed by just six at the break.
 
Allui led the Express and all scorers at the half with 17 points, while Gian Batista led the Express on the glass with six rebounds.
 
Both teams shot well from the floor in the first half, the Express at 45.5 percent and the Lions at 47.4 percent, but neither team could find their range from beyond the arc, with both teams combining to shoot 2-for-14 from three.
 
The Express opened the second half on a 7-0 run to retake the lead, but a 10-4 run just before the midway point of the half once again gave Nassau a six-point lead with 10:50 to play.
 
Monroe cut the deficit to just three with 8:11 to play, but the Express went without a field goal for the next 3:56 as Nassau responded to bring the lead out to double-digits.
 
Batista's three with 4:15 to play broke the steak, and the Express headed into the final four minutes down by nine.
 
A 5-0 run cut the deficit to five, but two-straight buckets from the Lions against brought the lead out to eight, and the Express went without a field goal for the final 2:49 and fell, 87-75, dropping to 10-14 on the season.

Allui led all scorers with 26 points, while Louis Florimon and Jessy Jimemez added 10 points apiece.
 
Batista led the Express on the glass with nine rebounds, falling a point, a rebound and three assists shy of a triple-double.
 
After shooting 45.5 percent from the floor in the first half, the Mustangs shot just 39.4 percent in the second half and 42.4 percent for the game.
 
The Express are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 17 when they take on the Rockland Community College Hawks at 4 p.m. at the Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle, N.Y.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of Monroe's Bronx campus has six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level beginning with their inaugural seasons in the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Express, please visit us at www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Express), Twitter (@MonroeExpress) and Instagram (@MonroeExpress).