NEW ROCHELLE, NY–  Monroe Express men's basketball returned to Monroe Athletic Complex Sunday afternoon, in search of their eighth straight win, but dropped a tightly contested matchup to the #6 Northampton Community College Spartans, 65-60. With the loss, the Express fall to 16-9 and the Spartans improve to 19-2.

The Express began this contest firing on all cylinders, matching the Spartans' offensive output and going toe to toe with the #6 ranked team. After trailing 4-0 in the opening moments, Jovan Young called his own number twice to even the score. The Express then went on a short 8-2 run to go in front by six points off an Abubakar Kromah jumper. Not to be denied, Spartans guard Tyrese Fuller hit two layups in a row to trim the lead to three, before Oramis Figuereo ended the brief momentum with a layup of his own. Michael Marable would then tie up the ball game, before an 11-2 Northampton saw the game's first double digit lead open up, increasing the count to 31-22. Monroe fought back, as a Jasigha Barnes layup at the 1:03 mark trimmed the lead to five going into the intermission.

With a fresh chip on their shoulder, The Express came out of the break looking to chip away at their ranked opponent's marginal separation. At the 16:48 mark in the second period, Titus Wilkins dropped in a 3-pointer to raise the lead back to eight, before Young responded with one of his own. Figuereo dropped in two free throws to put the deficit at four, before five straight points foiled Monroe's momentum. The advantage grew to 12 points, the Spartans' largest lead of the game, before the Express came rolling in. A Vashaun Wallace and-one layup sparked an 11-0 rally, capped off by a Wallace steal and Barnes put-back, that saw the Express take the lead, their first lead since the 11:51 mark of the first stanza. Both teams traded the narrow advantage, with both teams only clinging to a one point margin, before a late Wilkins layup and last second jumper by Marable sealed Northampton's 65-60 win.

The Express owned the edge in bench points (27-10), points off turnovers (16-11), steals (5-4), blocks (4-2), and 3-point percentage (25 to 18.8). Northampton led the game in rebounds (43-37), field goal percentage (38.5 to 34.8) and free throw percentage (70.6 to 60).

Young led the Express in scoring with 15, along with five rebounds. Figuereo followed with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal. Barnes added nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Quame' Smith scored nine points off the bench, with seven rebounds and one block.

The Express have a brief road trip Thursday (Feb. 2) to take on the LaGuardia Community College Red Hawks inside LaGuardia CC Sports Gymnasium in Long Island City, NY at 7 PM.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 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 and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 14 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
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