Bronx, NY, January 20, 2021 – The Monroe Express men's basketball team charged back from a 12-point deficit in the second half but fell short to Hostos Community College, 70-66 on Thursday evening at the Swamp. The Express drop to 13-6 (7-3 Region XV) with the loss, while the Caimans improve to 10-6 (6-2 Region XV).
Sophomores
Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) and
Onterio Miller (Bronx, New York) finished the evening in double-figures, with
Stone dropping a team-high 20 points and Miller contributing 11 points. Classmate
Issac Johnson (Bronx, New York) brought down a game-high tied 10 rebounds, and freshman
Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) dished out a game-high eight assists. In addition, underclassman
Siddiq McNair (Philadelphia, Pennslyvania) corralled a team-best three steals.
The Express outrebounded the Caimans 46-37 and outscored them off the bench 26-10. Monroe-Bronx also shot 72.7% from the line (8-11 FT).
Hostos Community College was locked in from the opening tip and never relinquished their lead on the evening, jumping out to a 10-5 lead at 16:44 on a Rashad Ramserran layup before Monroe-Bronx buried five of the next seven to cut the deficit to two, 12-10 on a
Stone three-pointer at 15:35. The Caimans constructed a 12-4 run to stretch their lead to double-digits for the first time, 10 points (24-14) at 8:56 on a Marquise Paulin layin. The Express scored six consecutive points to cut the deficit down to four, 24-20 on a
McNair jumper at 6:27 before Hostos responded with an 8-0 run capped off by an Onias Outlaw putback dunk at 3:50 to get the lead back to 10, 30-20.
Jaylen Thomas's three-pointer gave the Caimans their largest lead of the game 13, 36-23 at 1:15 before Monroe-Bronx finished with the final five points of the first on a
Johnson layup with 51 seconds and a
Miller three-pointer with five seconds left to cut the deficit to 36-28 at halftime.
Hostos increased the lead back to 12, 48-36 over the first four and a half minutes of the second half before the Express roared back with an 18-6 run to knot the game up at 54 on a
Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) three-pointer at 8:29. Monroe-Bronx had four opportunities to take their first lead and break the 54-54 tie over the next minute and a half.
However,
Barnes failed to connect on a go-ahead three-pointer at 7:53, and
McNair's floater did not fall at 7:30.
Johnson missed a three-pointer at 7:04, and after
Barnes grabbed the offensive board to give the Express another possession,
Stone missed a three-pointer at 6:50. The Caimans outscored the Express 12-3 over the next six minutes to get the lead up to nine, 66-57 on a Marquise Paulin layup at 1:01. Monroe-Bronx got as close as five, 66-61 but couldn't complete the comeback as Hostos came away with the victory to split the season series.
Hostos Community College had two players put up 20 point efforts in the contest, with Marquise Paulin leading the way with a game-high 22 points and Onias Outlaw posting a double-double with 20 points game-best tied 10 rebounds. Rashad Ramserran also registered four steals and dished out three assists, while Ashaunte Manuel had a game-best two blocks.
The Express will look to bounce back at home on Saturday, January 22, against Ulster Community College at 4 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).
