NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Monroe College – Bronx men's basketball team earned a thrilling victory over Virginia Peninsula Community College, 66-62, at Warwick Gymnasium on Saturday, December 16. The Express are now 8-7 this season and have split the first two games of the Virginia road trip.
 
The contest was tied at 62 with 22 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Vashaun Wallace drew a foul for Monroe and went to the free throw line. He drained both shots from the charity stripe to give the Express the lead for good at 64-62. Monroe then played strong defense, and Wallace hit two more shots from the foul line, to help the Express clinch the victory.
 
The key component in the contest was the free throw shooting. The Express shot 19-for-24 from the line (79.2%), while the Gators (4-5) went 6-for-13 (46.2%) from the charity stripe.
 
Leading the way for Monroe – Bronx was freshman center Rene Williams who snatched a game-high 20 rebounds, netted nine points, led all players with four blocks, forced a trio of steals, and dished out a pair of assists. Wallace scored 14 points, went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, snatched six boards, and delivered five assists. 
 
Second-year forward Abubakar Kromah helped the Express by generating 12 points, five assists, three rebounds, and just as many assists. Sophomore guard Jaream Eason scored 10 points, on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor, while grabbing a pair of rebounds and dishing out two assists. Classmate Jovan Young had 11 points and two rebounds. 
 
"We had a balanced attack on offense with four players in double figures," Express Head Coach Chris Neely said. "Got key stops when we needed it and made free throws to close the game!"

Monroe got off to a fast start as a good layup by sophomore forward Jevonté Valerie gave the Express an early 7-0 advantage. 
 
The Gators countered with a 10-2 run to jump out in front, 10-9. 
 
Both teams would be neck and neck through the next several minutes. 
 
The Express trailed, 26-25, but a triple by Young put Monroe back in front with 5:49 to go before the break. That began an 8-0 run by Monroe, capped off with a layup from Valerie, to pad the Blue and Gold's lead to 33-26, with 3:51 remaining in the first half. 
 
After Virginia Peninsula drained a free throw, Wallace answered with a jumper to give the Express their largest lead of the first period, at 35-27, with 3:01 to go.
 
Virginia Peninsula finished the opening half strong as Kenny Page drained a triple to shrink Monroe's lead to 35-30 and that would be the score heading into the intermission. 

After the Express scored the first bucket of the second half, the Gators scored 10 of the next 11 points to pull to within two, at 40-38. After the home team got the ball back, Jerome Mitchell drained a 3-point basket to give the Gators their first lead of the second half, at 41-40, with 14:23 remaining. 
 
Monroe – Bronx answered by snatching the momentum back with a 13-3 run to take its largest lead of the game, at 53-44, with 7:47 left to play. Williams played a huge role during that run with back-to-back baskets from the paint, and then the successful free throw shot that gave the Express a nine-point benefit. 
 
Virginia Peninsula would not go away as they generated a 12-4 run, capped off by a triple courtesy of Mitchell, to pull the home team to within one, at 57-56, with 4:26 remaining in regulation time. Kromah got the Express back on track with a layup to give his team more breathing room, at 59-56. 
 
After some back-and-forth action, Leon Rogers converted back-to-back layups to give Virginia Peninsula the lead, at 62-61, with just 1:12 remaining. On Monroe's next possession, Kromah was fouled and was sent to the free throw line. He made one of two free throw attempts to tie the game at 62 with 56 seconds to go. 
 
The home team tried to take the lead, but Kromah blocked an opposing shot. The Gators had one more shot attempt but strong contesting defense by Monroe forced their shot to not even reach the rim and Virginia Peninsula was then charged with a.shot-clock violation with 22 seconds remaining.
 
Wallace drew a foul for the Express before the ball was even inbounded. He was sent to the line and then displayed the clutch gene by drilling both free throw shots to give Monroe a tight 64-62 advantage. 
 
The Gators had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Monroe was able to force the opposition to commit an offensive foul with six seconds left. Wallace was fouled again, this time intentionally. Once again, he drained both free throws to pad the Express' benefit to 66-62, thus making it a two-possession game. 
 
Virginia Peninsula tried a three-point shot in the closing seconds but to no avail and Monroe went on to earn the hard-fought victory, 66-62.
 
Monroe – Bronx will conclude its three-game Virginia road tip on Sunday, December 17, when Monroe will take on Paul D. Camp Community College in Suffolk, Va. Tipoff is set for 2:00 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).