Chester. Virginia, December 17, 2021 - After embarking on a 380-mile trek from the Bronx, the Monroe Express men's basketball team couldn't have asked for a better start to the opening leg of their three-game Virginia road trip on Friday night. The Express erased the memories of a disappointing loss from earlier in the week right from the tip defeating Central International College, 82-72, in Chester, Virginia. The victory improves Monroe-Bronx to 9-3 on the season.

The Express used a balanced scoring attack with four different players scoring in double figures on the night. Sophomore  Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) led the charge with a team-high 15 points, and classmate Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) put up his fourth straight double-double team-leading ninth on the season, hauling down a game-high 15 rebounds and scoring 14 points. Fellow upperclassmen Onterio Miller (Bronx, New York) and Issac Johnson (Bronx, New York) chipped in 12 points and 11 points, and Jaiden Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed 10 boards. Freshman Siddiq McNair (Philadelphia, Pennslyvania) dished out a team-best three assists, and classmate Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) led defensively by snatching a team-best three steals.

The Express controlled the rebounding advantage significantly 58-32 and dominated the paint, scoring 54-32 while ringing up 19 second-chance points.

After both squads traded the first 10 points of the first half, the Express used an 8-2 run to get out to a 13-7 lead at 15:24 on Stone layup. Central International College cut the deficit to three, 13-10 on a three-pointer at 14:41, then Monroe-Bronx built the lead back to eight, 21-13 at 12:07 on a McNair three-point play before the Express increased the margin to double digits, 34-23, for the first time of the night. Central International College got as close as four, 38-34 before the visitors closed out the half with six of the final seven points to lead 44-35 at the half.

The Express never let up in the second half building their advantage to its largest of the night, 16, 71-55 at 8:35, when Johnson converted a three-point play and took that momentum to the final buzzer, winning 82-72.

The Express will look to continue their winning momentum tomorrow, December 18, against Bryant and Stratton (VA) at 3 p.m. in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Please visit the Monroe Express Men's Basketball Schedule Page for more information.


ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as 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).