NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. As the women did just hours before on Saturday, Monroe Colleges mens basketball team secured a spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament.
The Mustangs dominated Hagerstown Community College, 88-55, to win the NJCAA Division I Mens District III Tournament and secure a spot in the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
"From the first day of practice in the fall, it was our goal to win this game today so we can get back to the Nationals," said coach Jeff Brustad. "We played well, had things clicking on a lot of cylinders and now we have to get to work to get ready for Kansas."
The Mustangs started the game with three consecutive 3-pointers, each from a different player and rolled from there. They led 26-7 nine minutes into the game and 43-18 at halftime.
Five separate Mustangs hit at least one 3-pointer on Saturday and the team was 13-for-23 from beyond the arc. Davon Marshall and Marco Bourgault were the biggest contributors from downtown, as they shot 5-of-6 and 5-of-9, respectively.
Maurice Ndour, Drimir Ferguson and Jalil Abdul-Bassit each hit a triple, as well.
Marshall earned MVP honors for his stat line of 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Ferguson finished with nine points, nine assists and five steals, while Orlando Sanchez had 12 points and 11 boards.
The Mustangs out-rebounded the Hawks, 48-36, on Saturday.
Monroe is 30-3 and will play against the champion of District 11, made up of Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota) in the first round of the NJCAA Tournament on Tuesday, March 20, at noon.
From a report by Monroe College Athletics/Gary Axelbank
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