VIRGINIA BEACH – The Monroe College – Bronx men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought loss to Bryant & Stratton College Va. (JR), 65-62, at Atlantic Shore Christian School Gymnasium on Friday, December 15. Both teams end up splitting their home-and-home series with each other.
 
The Express (7-7) won the battle on the glass over the Bobcats (3-3), 54-41, but turnovers were Monroe's undoing as the Blue and Gold turned the ball over 19 times. Bryant & Stratton scored 19 points off the Express' miscues.
 
Leading the way for Monroe was sophomore forward Abubakar Kromah who had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while dishing out two assists, blocking a pair of shots, and collecting just as many steals. Rookie center Rene Williams also had a strong game with 12 points and 12 boards. Freshman guard Steven McGriff provided the Express a spark off the bench with nine points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Vashaun Wallace provided seven points, four assists, and a duo of steals.
 
The Bobcats had a narrow lead throughout most of the opening half. The home team managed to inflate its benefit to 23-18 with 4:26 remaining before the break. However, the Express got on track as a successful jump shot by sophomore guard Derrick Simpson began a strong finish to the first half for Monroe. Second-year guard Jovan Young continued Monroe's momentum by deflecting an opposing pass. Sophomore guard Jaream Eason gathered the ball and fed it to Wallace who converted a fast-break layup to pull Monroe to within one, at 23-22, with 3:22 remaining in the half.
 
After Bryant & Stratton inflated its advantage to three, Monroe finished the opening stanza with five unanswered points, capped off by a fast-break layup by Simpson with eight seconds left, to give the Express a 27-25 benefit. That would be the score after 20 minutes of play.
 
The Bobcats struck first in the second half, thanks to a layup by freshman guard Nathan King, to tie it up at 27. Monroe – Bronx countered with four unanswered points, courtesy of Williams and Kromah combining for back-to-back layups, to give Monroe its largest lead of the game at 31-27 with 18:38 remaining in regulation time.
 
Over a minute and a half later, rookie guard Jalen Brown of the Bobcats connected on a jumper to shrink the Express' vantage to 33-32. Kromah got Monroe back on track as he executed a fast-break layup, while being fouled. He took advantage of the opportunity from the charity stripe to complete the traditional three-point play and give his team a 36-32 advantage with 15:57 remaining. 
 
The Bobcats then scored five unanswered points, capped off by a layup from freshman forward Tyler Lindsay, to jump out to a one-point lead. Kromah temporarily halted the opposition's momentum with a layup to put Monroe back up by one, 38-37, with 12:43 to go.
 
Then, the key stretch of the game took place. The Bobcats went on a 12-2 run, in a span of 3:02, to take a commanding 49-40 hold with 8:49 remaining. Bryant & Stratton even managed to inflate its benefit to 11 points, at 54-43, with just 5:53 to go. 
 
The Express would not go down without a fight, as they scored eight of the game's next 10 points over the course of 1:48 to pull to within five with 3:49 to go. McGriff finished off that run with a successful and-one three-point play that narrowed the Express' disadvantage to 56-51. 
 
After the Bobcats extended their lead to 59-51, the Express rattled off four unanswered points, concluding with Eason's fast-break layup to pull Monroe to within four, at 59-55, with 2:23 to go. 
 
Down by six with less than a minute to go, Simpson converted a layup to shrink Monroe's deficit to 61-57 with 58 ticks left on the clock. However, the Express could not get the key stop as the home team scored to go up by six two more times during the closing stretch after Monroe pulled to within four. The Express did end the game on a strong note, thanks to Wallace's triple at the buzzer, but it would not be enough as Bryant & Stratton ended up with the victory, 65-62.
 
For Monroe - Bronx, Simpson had a solid game off the bench with seven points, six rebounds, and a trio of assists. Eason tallied six points, four boards, and a duo of assists. Freshman forward Shain Frazier gather six caroms.
 
For Bryant & Stratton, Lindsay led all players with 24 points, plus he gathered nine rebounds, forced four steals, and dished out a pair of assists.
 
Monroe will continue its three-game Virginia road trip with a game at Virginia Peninsula Community College on Saturday, December 16. Tipoff at Warwick Gymnasium is set for 3:00 p.m.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 31 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 seven 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/X (@MonroeExpress), Instagram (@MonroeExpress), and Threads (@MonroeExpress).