Chesapeake, VA, December 18, 2021 - Coming off a major bounce-back victory a night ago, the Monroe Express men's basketball team showed enormous grit and mental toughness during a scrappy Saturday afternoon matchup against Bryant and Stratton (VA), where possessions came at a premium. The Express erased a 36-28 halftime deficit behind a ferocious second-half rally, gutting out a 68-65 road victory over the Bobcats in Chesapeake, Virginia. Monroe-Bronx's second straight victory improves their record to 10-3, while Bryant and Stratton (VA) falls to 5-6 with the loss.
 
Three Express players finished the contest in double figures, with sophomore Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) and freshman Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) both dropping a team-high 14 points. Barnes also dished out a team-high eight assists while upperclassmen Issac Johnson (Bronx, New York) contributed 10 points off the bench, and Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) hauled down a team-best 13 rebounds and missed his fifth straight double-double by a point with nine in the game. On defense, Stone and classmate Onterio Miller (Bronx, New York) also led the way snatching a team-high tied three steals each.

Monroe-Bronx controlled the rebounding advantage 37-30 while scoring 17 points off 20 forced turnovers.

Bryant and Stratton (VA) came out of the gate firing in the first half scoring nine of the games first 12 points to take an early 9-3 lead at the 14:50 mark before the Express put together a 7-0 run to take a one-point lead 10-9 on a Stone jumper at 13:16. After the Bobcats retook the lead by one, 11-10 at 13:00 on a layup, Monroe-Bronx constructed a 10-4 run capped off by a Miller dunk at 6:32 off of a steal to give them their largest advantage of the game five, 20-15. After a Johnson fast-break layup at 5:49 made it 22-19, the Bobcats finished on a tear with a 17-6 run to go into halftime with their largest lead of the afternoon, 36-28. 
 
Bryant and Stratton (VA) built their lead back to its largest mark eight, 38-30 on a Jefferson Youngblood layup at 19:13. Monroe-Bronx outscored the Bobcats 15-7 over the next 5:15 to knot the game up at 45 on a Babacar Niang (Harlem, New York) layup and 48 on a Cordero three-pointer. Then the Express recorded four of the following five points to stretch the lead to three, 52-49 on a Jaiden Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) layup at 10:40. The Bobcats constructed a 12-4 run over the next 3:19 to stretch their lead to four, 60-56 on a pair of Jalen Jordan free throws at 7:59. 

Monroe-Bronx recorded back to back layups from Stone at 7:35 and Johnson at 6:51 to tie it at 60, then Kenari Jones registered a three-point play to make it 63-60 before the Express finished the game on an 8-2 run with Johnson's layup at 1:15 giving them the lead for good 67-65. After Cordero went 1-for-2 at the line to increase the lead to 68-65 with nine seconds remaining, the Bobcats had one last chance to tie it with five seconds left. 
 
Out of a timeout, Kenari Jones lost track of the clock being indecisive between going for two points or the game-tying three-pointer and couldn't get off a shot as the clock ran out, allowing Monroe-Bronx to earn a well-deserved 68-65 road victory. For Bryant and Stratton (VA), three players posted double-figure performances led by Jalen Jordan's game-high 17 points, while Kenari Jones and Jefferson Youngblood chipped in with 13 apiece. 

For Bryant and Stratton (VA), three players posted double-figure performances led by Jalen Jordan's game-high 17 points, while Kenari Jones and Jefferson Youngblood chipped in with 13 apiece. Jordan also handed out a team-best five assists, and Jones grasped a team-high three steals while both hauled in a team-best seven rebounds.

The Express will look for a three-game sweep of their Virginia road trip tomorrow against Thomas Nelson Community College on Sunday, December 19 at 2 p.m. in Hampton, Virginia. For more information, visit the Monroe Express Men's Basketball Schedule page.
 
Notables 

• Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) has posted a team-high 10 double-digit scoring games and currently leads the squad with 10 double-digit rebound games, including five straight.
• Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) is the team leader with 64 assists which is currently third-most in a single season which surpasses Kevin Benjamin's mark of 60 assists in 2019-20. He has recorded a career-high eight assists in three games this season and also distributed four or more assists in nine out of 13 games.
• Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) has scored in double-figures six times on the season, and Issac Johnson (Bronx, New York) has finished in double-figures five times this season, with both doing it in back-to-back games.

 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).