New Rochelle, NY, January 20, 2021 – On Saturday afternoon at the Monroe Athletic Complex, the Monroe Express basketball team bounced back with a complete effort rolling past Ulster County Community College, 74-43. The Express improve to 14-6 with the win, while the Senators fall to 1-11 with the loss.

Freshman Babacar Niang (Harlem, New York) put on a show on the afternoon, putting up a career and game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the first half. Classmate Chad Duke (Brooklyn, New York came off the bench to drain 12 points and sophomore Jaiden Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points. Sophomore Isaiah Stone (Baldwin, New York) hauled down 10 rebounds, and classmate Jabnel Cordero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) and underclassman Jasigha Barnes (Baldwin, New York) snatched a game-best six steals apiece. Barnes also dished out a game-high tied four assists and scored seven points.

The Express were relentless on defense with a season-high with 21 steals and scored 22 points off 29 Senator turnovers on the afternoon. Monroe-Bronx dominated the glass outrebounding the Senators 57-39 in the contest while outscoring Ulster County Community College in the paint 42-18. The Express spread the wealth on offense handing out 15 assists in the game and shot 70.6 % from the line, which was the second straight performance with a 70% or better mark from the charity stripe. Monroe-Bronx also got a significant contribution from their bench, with 23 of their 74 points in the contest.
 
Monroe-Bronx exploded out of the gate from the opening tip scoring the first nine points of the game and building their lead up to nine, 16-7 at 11:40 after Niang went 1-for-2 from the line. Then Ulster County Community College responded with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit down to three, 16-13 at 10:17 after Ian Jabath went a perfect 2-for-2 at the line. However, that was the closest the Senators got as Monroe-Bronx roared back with a 25-3 run over the next nine and a half minutes, increasing the lead to 23, 39-16 when Duke made a jumper at 2:25 and built that lead to 45-24 going into halftime.
 
The second half was more of the same as the Express ran away with the contest building their lead to its largest of the day, 35, 62-27 on a layup from Cordero at 14:36. The Express milked the remaining time on the clock to cruise to a 74-43 victory. 
 
 For Ulster County Community College, two players scored in double figures, with Ian Jabatah leading the way with a double-double with a team-high 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Eljamah Seymour chipped in with 11 points. Chase Monroe hauled in a team-best 12 rebounds and swatted away a game-best three shots while Cris Rodriguez distributed a team-high four assists.
 
The Express will rest and get healthy for a few days and then look to make it two straight victories next Thursday, January 27, against Regional opponent Kingsborough Community College at 8 p.m. in Brooklyn, New York. 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).