Monroe Mustangs Men’s Basketball Picks up 10th Straight Win with Victory over Union County

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., February 16, 2019 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team picked up a 93-83 victory over Union County College on Saturday at the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Mustangs improve to 21-5 on the year with their 10th straight victory, while the Owls drop to 12-17. The Mustangs came out firing, opening the game on a 10-0 run. Zion Styles made a trio of threes in the first four minutes of the game, helping the Mustangs claim a 21-5 advantage very early in the contest. The Owls responded with nine straight points to get back within seven, and a three by Tyheem Burno later made it a four-point game by the 13:01 mark. Back-to-back layups by Nyquan McCombs, and then one more by Jordan Rowley brought the Owls back within a point at 29-28. After Monroe took a 32-30 lead, the Mustangs rattled off 14 straight points to go up by 16. A seven-point run shortly after put the Mustangs ahead, 53-34. The Mustangs closed out the half with its final four points to head into the locker room with a 57-36 advantage. Styles led the Mustangs with 18 points at the half, while Rodriguez was right behind him with 17 of his own. Styles and Rodriguez each drained three long balls in the first half. Daniel Cabassa added 13 points off the bench. Rodriguez also led the Mustangs with six assists in the first 20 minutes. The Mustangs scored the first three points of the half on a three-point play by Mouhamadou Gueye, but the Owls scored eight straight to get within 16. The Mustangs fired back with 11 straight points to go back up by 27 with 15:42 to play. The Owls made it a 17-point game shortly after, but the Mustangs quickly pushed it back to 23 points with 7:54 on the clock. Seven straight points for the Owls made it a 16-point game with 6:24 on the clock. The Owls rallied back to get within 10 late in the game, but the Mustangs held on for the double-digit victory. Styles led the way for Monroe with 21 points in the win. Rodriguez finished with 17 points and seven assists. Will Martinez picked up 16 points, while Cabassa finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. The Mustangs will look to make it 11 straight wins when they host ASA College for Region XV action at the MAC on Tuesday, Feb. 19. The Mustangs will also be celebrating Sophomore Night prior to tip-off. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m. ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 27 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus as of the fall of 2017, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.