NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College men’s basketball team continued its torrid play of late, with a 97-49 triumph over Gateway Community College on Tuesday in New Rochelle. The win lifted the team’s record to 9-3 and marked the Mustangs’ fifth–straight victory.
The game opened with both sides going on scoring runs. Monroe jumped out to a 5-0 lead when Shackquiel Scott opened the scoring with a put back off a Monroe miss. Lawahn Lewis then nailed a three-pointer to make it 5-0. After Gateway got on the board. Lewis drove and made a reverse layup to put the Mustangs up 7-3.
Gateway responded with a 5-0 run to take an 8-7 lead. Monroe then countered with an 11-4 run of their own to lead, 19-11. The 11 points were courtesy of a Hampus Ahlin trifecta off a dribble-drive from Lukas Landgren. A Scott dunk in transition made it 12-8. Taquan Givens made a bucket to make it 14-8. A driving layup by Tyler Ancrum moved the score to 16-8. On the ensuing Monroe possession, Will Tavares buried a three-pointer to make the score 19-8. The Lions finally ended the run with a three to pull within 19-11.
Monroe turned up the attack from there and it was the Mustangs reinforcements whom made the difference. Charles Wingate had a three point play that put Monroe up 12, 26-14 with 9:28 left. The Mustangs pushed the lead to 18 before two freebies for the Lions made it 30-16 with 6:47 remaining. Another Wingate three-ball in the final minute put Monroe up 30, 52-22. Shortly thereafter, a Jarron Chapman free throw made the score 53-22 Monroe. The 31 point cushion was their largest of the half. The team led 52-25 at the break.
The result was never in doubt in the second half. A Lewis three at 13:01 put the Mustangs ahead, 68-35. The score remained there until a foul shot by Ancrum at 11:18 made it 69-35. The exclamation point in the game came at the 10:33 mark when Will Tavares went airborne for a thunderous dunk and three-point play that made the score 72-35 for Monroe. The lead got as high as 48 when Wingate made a three inside the final minute. The Mustangs prevailed, 97-49.
Monroe outrebounded Gateway, 55-26, and controlled the offensive glass by pulling down 23 boards. The Mustangs bench outscored the Lions, 69-16. Charles Wingate scored a game-high 26 points on 8-11 shooting, including 7-10 three-pointers. Jarron Chapman chipped in with 18 points.
The Monroe College men’s basketball team returns to action on Thursday, December 3, when they travel to West Windsor, New Jersey to face Mercer Community College. The tipoff for that game is slated for 6:00 PM.