New Rochelle, N.Y., December, 14 2021 – The nationally-ranked No. 12 Monroe Express men's basketball team came into their final home contest of 2021 off of an emotional road victory shorthanded on the road and were challenged from the opening tip by their rivals from around the block.
In a back-and-forth affair, the Monroe Express men's basketball team could not overcome a late deficit as they were upset by Region 15 foe Bronx Community College, 67-62, on Tuesday evening at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The loss ends the Express's two-game winning streak dropping their record to 8-3 (5-2 Region XV) while the Broncos improve to 4-7 (3-5 Region XV).
Sophomore Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) put up his third straight and team-leading eighth double-double with a team-high 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Freshman Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) drained 13 points on the evening, with 10 in the first half, while distributing a game-best tied six assists. Sophomore Jaiden Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and freshman Chad Duke (Brooklyn, New York) led Monroe-Bronx defensively, with Simon snatching a team-high three steals and Duke swatting a team-best two shots.
Both teams had trouble taking care of the basketball on the night, with Monroe-Bronx forcing 22 turnovers and scoring 18 points off of them while Bronx Community College scored 24 points off of 20 Express turnovers. Monroe-Bronx continued to get an excellent effort from their bench, outscoring Bronx C.C. 27-10 despite being outscored in the paint 30-22 and outrebounded 45-38 by the Broncos.
The first installment of this Bronx rivalry, separated by a block, was a competitive one featuring 11 lead changes and four ties. Bronx Community College rang up three of the first five points of the first half before Monroe-Bronx roared back with a 12-2 run to build their lead to their largest of the night, nine, 14-5 on a Siddiq McNair (Philadelphia, Pennslyvania) layup at 13:39. The Broncos would respond with an 8-2 run to cut the Express lead to three, 16-13 at 11:13 on a Blaise Atanga layup and after an Onterio Miller (Bronx, New York) three-pointer at 11:16 to increase the advantage to six, 19-13. Then, the Broncos embarked on a 10-2 run to tie it at 21 at 6:58 when Blaise Atanga went 1-for-2 from the line and took the lead for the first time since 18:13 in the first half, 23-21, on a Blaise Atanga lay in at 5:47.
The final five and a half minutes of the first featured five different lead changes and two ties. Stone and Atanga exchanged a three-pointer and a jumper to make it 24-23 Express at 4:22 and put the Broncos back in front 25-24 at 3:38 then Duke gave Monroe-Bronx back the lead by one, 26-25, on a layup at 3:06 before Michael Morgan knotted it up at 26 at 2:43 after going 1-for-2 at the line. Bronx C.C. grabbed the lead back on a jumper at 2:13 by Morgan before Simon's layup on a hard take evened it up at 28 at 1:54. Emmanuel Garcia nailed two free-throws to give back the lead to the Broncos 30-28 and stretched it to a four-point advantage, 32-28, 21 seconds later when Ramon Santos IV went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Duke went 1-for-2 at the line to cut the deficit to three, 32-29 with 59 seconds left, corralled a steal, and fed Barnes for a fast-break layup with four seconds left to get within one, 32-31 at halftime.
After a Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) three-pointer moved the Express back in front at 18:32, 34-32, the Broncos would tie it at 34 on a Morgan jumper 17 seconds later and construct a 10-0 run over the next 3:01 to extend their advantage to eight, 42-34 at 15:14 when Atanga threw down a dunk on a fast break. Babacar Niang (Harlem, New York) converted on two free throws to finish off a 7-0 run by the Express at 13:44, then Bronx C.C. outscored Monroe-Bronx 14-6 to build their lead to nine, 56-47, their largest of the night at 6:24 after Enmanuel Garcia went 1-for-2 from the line.
The Express would not go away down the stretch, responding with a 10-0 run to trim the Bronco lead down to one, 56-55 at 5:10 on a Barnes trey and retake the lead for the first time since midway through the first half, 57-56 at 4:35 on a Simon layup. Then the Bronx registered six consecutive points, with four of them on layups from Morgan to recapture the lead 60-57 at 3:34 and extend it to five, 62-57 at 2:16.
Monroe-Bronx had one last opportunity to tie it at 63 with 40 seconds left, but Issac Johnson's (Bronx, New York) three-pointer hit the back rim, and Bronx C.C. was able to get a crucial defensive rebound to complete the upset victory 67-62.
The Bronx Community College had three players finish the night in double figures, with freshman Blaise Atanga posting a double-double with a game-high 21 points, 14 of them in the first half, and gobbled up a team-best 15 boards and a game-best five steals. Fellow underclassmen Michael Morgan dropped 18 points and dished out a game-high tied six assists while Enmanuel Garcia chipped in with 10 points in the contest.
The Express finish out the 2021 calendar year on a three-game Virginia road trip on Friday, December 17, against Central International College at 6 p.m. in Chester, Virginia. For more information, visit the Monroe Express Men's Basketball Schedule page.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports program, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 17 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
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).
