Garden City, N.Y., December, 3 2021 – On Thursday evening, the Monroe Express men's basketball team boarded the bus to Garden City, New York, to prove they were for real in a matchup that served as a measuring stick for this program, and after 40 minutes and an extra period, they passed the test.

Sophomore Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) fired a three-pointer from the left wing that pinballed out and found the right hand of a soaring Issac Johnson (Bronx, New York) who's putback helped the Express edge No. 2 nationally-ranked Nassau Community College, 91-90 in overtime for the biggest win in school history. Monroe-Bronx's fifth straight victory, tying a season-best from 2019-20, improves their record to 6-1 (5-1 Region XV) while the Lions dropped their first contest of the season, falling to 5-1 (3-1 Region XV).

Both Express victories over Top 5 opponents have come against Nassau, with the other during the 2019-20 season finale, 79-74 back on February 18, 2020. 
 
The Express took an 83-81 lead to begin the extra period after a Chad Duke (Brooklyn, New York) layin on a fastbreak at the 4:17 mark. Nassau Community College responded the next trip down the court as Lamont Hough, Jr. corralled an offensive rebound and fed Darius Young on the right-wing for the go-ahead three-pointer at 4:00 to make it 84-83. Monroe-Bronx provided a robust response scoring the following six points - Siddiq McNair (Philadelphia, Pennslyvania) layup by on a beautiful baseline drive and score and four points (2-2 FT and layup) from Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) - at 2:54 to extend the lead to 89-84.

Nassau responded with the following five points to tie it up at 89 on two free throws by Sahdique Watkins and a tying three-pointer at 1:51 by Darius Young. With 29.8 seconds left, Monroe-Bronx called a timeout, and on the next possession, Cordero fired a three-pointer that rimmed out, and Johnson pounced quickly on an uncontested rebound to tip it home with 15 seconds left, giving the Express the lead back 91-90. Sahdique Watkins went 1-for-2 from the line with six seconds remaining, missing the second free-throw, but Nassau drew a jump ball with two seconds to get another chance to tie it and force double overtime. Instead, Watkins inbounded to Darius Young, whose fadeaway tying jumper from the left baseline at the horn hit the back rim giving the Express the 91-90 upset victory. 

The Express got a bevy of scoring efforts during their victory on the night, with four players scoring in double-figures. Stone put up his second straight double-double with a team-high 21 points and a game and career-high 19 boards, and Johnson dropped a career-high 17 points and hauled down nine rebounds on the night. Freshman Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) had 15 points and dished out a game-best tied five assists, and snatched a team-best three steals. Sophomore Onterio Miller (Bronx, New York) also provided a major contribution off the bench with 14 points in the contest.

Monroe-Bronx dominated the glass outrebounding Nassau Community 56-32, including 24-8 in offensive rebounds while scoring 23 second-chance points to the seven of the Lions. Defensively, the Express scored 34 points off of 25 forced turnovers on the evening.

The Express got off to a great start with eight of the game's first ten points to stretch their lead to six, 8-2, the largest of the night on a Barnes jumper at 17:34 and 15:03 on a Babacar Niang (Harlem, New York) layup making it 12-6. The Lions countered with a 10-4 run tying it at 16 on an Ahunna Okoko layup at 11:08. After Miller nailed a three-pointer to give the Express the lead back 19-16 at 10:42, Nassau constructed a monstrous 14-3 run to grab their first lead 20-19 at 10:12 on two free-throws from Volka Levent and extend it to 10, 31-21, with another pair at the line from Darius Young at 7:10.

Monroe-Bronx would record six of the following seven points to get the deficit down to three, 31-28 at 05:44 on a Johnson tip-in before Nassau C.C. registered 12 of the following 15 points to get their lead to 12, 43-31, its largest of the game on a Keyshawn Kennedy fastbreak floater at 2:32. The Express mounted a final charge to close out the first half with a 10-4 run to get within three, 45-42 at halftime.

The second half was a slugfest featuring seven lead changes and seven ties. The Lions came out hot to begin the second half opening up on an 11-4 run to stretch the lead to 10, 56-46 before Monroe-Bronx roared back with a furious 12-1 run to grab back the lead by one, 58-57 at 11:01 on a Miller putback. After both teams exchanged the next five points to tie it twice at 58 and 60, the Express would ring up nine of the following 12 points to bring their lead back to its largest of the night six, 69-63 on a Stone layup at 5:57. Then, Nassau C.C. exploded for a 12-0 run and retook the lead on two Darius Young three-pointers at 4:25 to make it 72-69 and 3:44 to increase the lead to 75-69.

The Express put together another rally with an 8-2 run to tie it at 77 on a Barnes three from the right-wing at 1:47, then Nassau C.C. recorded the following four points - Mosley 2-2 FT and Young fastbreak layup - to move their lead to four, 81-77 with 55 seconds left. Johnson would sink four consecutive free throws to help Monroe-Bronx knot it up again at 81 with 20 seconds remaining. Darius Young couldn't convert a one and one free throw opportunity with under five seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.

Nassau Community College had two players with 20 point performances in the game, with Darius Young ringing up a game-high 28 points and seven three-pointers while Shabue Mosley came off the bench a finished with a double-double with 25 points and a team-best 11 boards. Mosley also had a game-best four steals while Ahunna Okoko distributed a game-high tied five assists and chipped in 10 points.

The Monroe Express will look to set a new single-season record for consecutive wins with six on Saturday, December 4 at 3 p.m. at home against Regional opponent Orange County Community College at 3 p.m. at Monroe Athletic Complex. For more information, please visit the Monroe Express Men's Basketball Schedule Page.

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).