GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The Monroe College – Bronx men's basketball team had their eight-game Region 15 winning streak snapped on Thursday evening as they suffered a hard-fought loss to Nassau Community College, 70-65, at Nassau CC Main Gym. The Express remain in second place in the regional standings but drop their Region 15 record to 12-5 (18-10 overall). The Lions (17-9, 11-6 Region 15) are now tied with Hostos Community College for third place in the regional standings.
 
Monroe – Bronx had a five-point lead with 8:14 to go in regulation time, but Nassau went on a 14-3 run in a span of 2:50 to take the lead for good, at 57-51, with 5:08 to remaining on their way to the win.
 
The key to the game was at the free throw line. The Express went 10-for-12 from the charity stripe, while the Lions converted 24 free throws out of 35 attempts. 
 
Leading the way for Monroe – Bronx during the evening was sophomore guard Vashaun Wallace who scored 13 points and distributed a trio of assists. Second-year forward Abubakar Kromah had a near double-double with 11 points and nine boards, while delivering six assists. 
 
Monroe dominated most of the opening half as a 3-point field goal by sophomore guard Derrick Simpson gave the Express their largest lead of the evening, at 32-22, with 1:11 remaining until the break. Nassau finished the first period on a positive note as a triple by sophomore guard Dajul Johnson pulled the home team to within seven with 21 ticks left on the clock. That concluded the scoring for the half as both teams went into the intermission with Monroe nursing a 32-25 advantage.
 
The Lions scored the first four points of the second stanza to pull to within two. The Express recovered and went back up by five a few times, including a 6-point lead on one occasion, but Nassau eventually went on an 8-2 run to jump out in front, 43-42, with 10:02 left.
 
Monroe bounced back with six unanswered points, capped off by a layup from sophomore forward Jevonté Valerie, to take a 48-43 advantage with 8:14 left to play. Then it was the Lions' turn to go on a run as they scored five straight points to tie it up at 48. On Monroe's next possession, Kromah kicked the ball out to freshman guard Steven McGriff who buried a triple to allow the Blue and Gold to regain the lead at 51-48 with 7:06 remaining. 
 
Nassau responded with nine straight points which concluded with a pair of free throws from second-year forward Anthony Todd, to jump out to a 57-51 benefit with just over five minutes remaining. 
 
After Monroe fell behind by a score of 59-53, freshman guard Jayden Gamory was fouled twice and hit all four of his free throw attempts to narrow Monroe's deficit to 59-57 with 2:17 left. The Lions countered by hitting three free throws off two drawn fouls to build their lead back up to five (62-57) with 1:41 left to play. Down 65-60 with 39 seconds left, the Express once again received a lift from Gamory who drained a shot from downtown to pull Monroe to within two, at 65-63. After Nassau hit a free throw, Kromah grabbed a defensive rebound off a missed second attempt and fed the ball to Wallace who sprinted down the court and successfully executed a fast-break layup to decrease the Express' disadvantage to just one point, at 66-65, with 31 seconds left. 
 
Sophomore guard Bashir Byrd of Nassau was intentionally fouled and drained both free throws to pad the home team's lead to 68-65 with 24 seconds remaining. The Express had a chance to tie the game but could not connect on a potential game-tying three-point attempt. The Lions ended up with the ball with eight seconds left. Byrd was fouled on purpose once again and drained both shots from the charity stripe to put his team up by two possessions and clinch the Region 15 victory for Nassau. 
 
For the Express, sophomore guard Jaream Eason provided four points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Gamory scored nine points, snatched six caroms, and collected two steals. Valerie provided eight points, four rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. McGriff added seven points and three assists.
 
For the Lions, Byrd had a near double-double with 26 points and nine rebounds, while dishing out three assists. Todd produced 15 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Sophomore guard Jesse Taylor generated 15 points, three boards, and two steals.
 
Monroe – Bronx will conclude the regular season on Thursday, February 22, at Queensborough Community College. Tipoff at RFK Gymnasium is set for 7:30 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).