NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Monroe Express men's basketball took to their home court Thursday evening for the second time this week, and edged the Kingsborough Community College Wave, 65-55, after strong late game execution in the final minute. The Express improve to 19-9 (11-3 Region 15), and the Wave fall to 6-13 (5-6 Region 15). 

Both teams got out to a slow start, before an Andrew Molina pickoff and feed to Abubakar Kromah got the Express into the scoring column. Soon after, Jovan Young finished on the break, and Tabidi Abdelamaged answered with a layup of his own. Bryan Blanding then snuck in to tie the game, right before both teams went cold for the next few minutes. The Express began to create some separation following a Siddiq McNair layup grew the advantage to seven. Monroe saw their first double-digit lead after Kromah finished on the inside off a Jasigha Barnes steal. Kromah gave the Express their largest lead of the half at 18, giving him eight points in the period. The two teams would continue to go back and forth after two Blanding layups would chip away at the deficit, with the score sitting at 37-25 going into the half.

With the second half underway, the Express continued to keep a sizable margin with the Wave, and for the first 17 minutes of the play, they were able to. The Wave would not be denied after an Abdelamaged and-one layup trimmed the Monroe advantage to seven points at the 3:44 mark. After a Jaream Eason miss, Troy Graham knocked down a long jumper, cutting the lead to five. Eason would make up for his previous miss, hitting a big jumper in an attempt to stifle the Kingsborough momentum. Graham would come back down the court and knock down a huge 3-pointer to cut the lead to four, prompting a Monroe timeout. With one minute remaining, Young came out of the timeout hitting a crucial layup to increase the advantage to six. Isavior Coombs missed a quick pull up jumper on the other end, and two layups by McNair and Kromah sealed the Express victory at 65-55.

Kromah led the Express with 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one assist. Molina was closely behind with 12 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Young added eight points, four rebounds and two steals while McNair pitched in eight points and three assists.

The Express continue their home stand Saturday (Feb. 11) as they take on the Dutchess Community College Falcons in a Region 15 Sophomore Day game inside Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle, NY at 3 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.
 
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).