New Rochelle, N.Y., January 13, 2021 – The Monroe Express men's basketball team held an opponent to its lowest total of the season, as the Express defeated Omnia Academy at home on Thursday night, 59-42. The Express's second straight victory improves their record to 12-5 overall. 
 
Sophomore Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) put up a double-double for the second straight game and team-leading 12th time this season with a game-high 17 points and 16 rebounds, with 14 points and 12 rebounds coming in the second half, to go along with two steals. Classmate Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) added all 10 points in the first half and joined fellow upperclassman Jaiden Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with a team-high tied four steals. Simon chipped in with nine points and nine rebounds, missing a double-double by one each while freshman Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) dished out a team-best two assists.
 
The Express put forth their best defensive effort of the season setting three new season-highs limiting Omnia Academy to 42 points and 26.3 % shooting from the field (15-for-57) while snatching up 18 steals. Monroe-Bronx also scored 27 points off of 29 forced turnovers and dominated down low outrebounding Omnia Academy 59-37 and outscoring the visitors in the paint 28-16.
 
After Omnia Academy registered five of the first seven points of the game, the Express provided a roaring response with a 15-0 run over the next five and half minutes to take their first double-digit lead by 13, 18-5 on a Cordero three-pointer at 13:13. Omnia recorded six straight points before the Express countered, ringing up seven of the following 10 points to get their lead back to double-digits by 11, 22-11 when Chad Duke (Brooklyn, New York) went two-for-two at the line and by 12 on a Barnes three-pointer at 7:03. Omnia closed out the first half on a 9-3 run to trim the double-digit deficit down to six, 28-22 going into halftime.

The Express got out of the gate quickly in the second half building the lead back to double-digits, 38-28 at 15:17 on a Stone layup before Omnia mounted one more charge with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit down to three, 38-35 at 13:07 on a layup by Morris Ugusuk. Monroe-Bronx took control from there, outscoring Omnia 21-7 down the stretch to get their lead to its largest of the night, 17, 59-42 on a Babacar Niang (Harlem, New York) layup with 37 seconds and keep it at that mark for the victory.
 
For Omnia Academy, two players finished the game in double-figures with Abdullah Amzil and Morris Ugusuk both scoring a team-high 11 points. Daniel Kilmer hauled down a team-best eight rebounds while Elijah Thrash and Sebastian Kilmel distributed a team-high tied two assists and Thrash and Jelani Towa had a team-best tied two steals.
 
The Express will look for their third straight win next Tuesday, January 18 against Region 15 opponent Borough of Manhattan Community College at 7 p.m. at the Monroe Athletic Complex. 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 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).