HUTCHINSON, Kan.— No. 1 John A. Logan College got off to a strong start in Tuesday's NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Championship Second Round matchup, and it proved to be enough for the tournament's top team to overcome a few runs by the No. 16-seeded Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team in a 105-85 final at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. John A. Logan advances to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Championship with the win, while the Mustangs are eliminated from the tournament with the loss.
It was a tough start for the Mustangs, as the Volunteers made a trio of three-pointers in the first two minutes to take a 9-2 lead. With Monroe within nine, the Volunteers went on a 10-0 run to take a 26-7 advantage with 10:51 left in the first half. Melvin Council Jr. later hit a three to get back within 15.
The teams began trading baskets, leading to John A. Logan taking a 39-20 lead with 5:50 to play in the half. The Mustangs then began to turn things around, scoring nine straight points to make it a 10-point difference. A three by Logan's Sean Smith pushed the top-seeded team's lead back to 13, but Stefano Faloppa made from deep, followed by a three from Ziare Wells the next time down the court to make it a seven-point game. Elijah Jones produced a three-point play for the Vols to go back up by 10, but Council got to the line and made both of his chances to draw within eight. Quimari Peterson then made Logan's ninth three-pointer of the half with just eight seconds left to send the game to the half with the Volunteers on top, 50-39.
The threes were falling both ways early in the second half. Curt Lewis made one to push Logan's lead to 14, but Keith Warren Jr. responded with a longball of his own to get back within 11. Peterson hit another for the Vols the next time down the court, but Warren made another deep three on the next possession to keep the Volunteers from pulling away. Hamdel Mohammed made 1-of-2 from the line to make it a 10-point game, but the Volunteers scored five points on their next to trips up the court to push their lead to 61-46 with 16:16 on the clock.
Warren nailed his third three of the half moments later, but Peterson hit another from the corner to keep the lead at 15 for the Volunteers. Council was fouled on a three, making all three chances to make it a 64-52 game. Sean Smith scored twice in a row for the Vols, but Warren sank yet another three. After a pair of free throws for the Volunteers, Warren stayed hot with his fifth three of the half, but John A. Logan went on a 7-2 run to push the lead to 17. Warren scored another four points as part of a 6-3 stretch for Monroe that made it a 14-point game.
James Dent hit a three for the Volunteers, but Council hit one of his own with 8:01 on the clock to keep the difference at 14. The Volunteers built their lead back up to 18 before Wells drained a three for the Mustangs, followed a few possessions later by a layup from Nikola Danicic that brought the difference down to 13 with 2:54 to go. Logan scored the next five points to go back up by 18. In the final minute, the Volunteers scored seven straight before Wells made a layup for the final bucket of the game, seeing the score go final at 105-85.
Council scored a game-high 23 points for the Mustangs in Tuesday's Second-Round matchup, adding seven boards and nine assists to lead the team in all three categories. Warren caught fire in the second half, scoring 19 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes. Wells finished with 16 points, scoring 11 of those points in the second half as the Mustangs tried to make a comeback.
The Mustangs' season comes to an end with an outstanding 29-5 overall record, their best winning percentage (.853) since going 33-4 (.892) in 2011-12. Monroe's First-Round victory over No. 17 South Georgia State College on Monday was their first NJCAA Tournament appearance and victory since the 2017 tournament. The Mustangs earned their way to the 2023 NJCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Championship after winning the 2023 East District Championship for the second time in their past three seasons.
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 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 11 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).Print Friendly Version