New Rochelle, NY - The division I national powerhouse Monroe College Mustangs proved too much for Howard as they Dragons fell to the tournament hosts 71-59. 

The full court press defense of the Dragons proved effective in the game as it held the Mustangs in check for large chunks of the game. Monroe went on an 11-0 run midway through the first half, but Howard answered back with a couple of buckets from Andrew Mills (Owings Mills, MD/New Town) and a Shane Taylor (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) mid-range jumper. Jalen Bowie (Frederick, MD/Frederick) hit a three pointer with a minute left in the first half then drained a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to cut the Mustangs lead down to 30-26.

Monroe jumped out of the gates to start the second half, going on a 10-0 run that they continued to build on as they led by as much as 21 midway through the half. Howard would not go down without a fight, clawing their way back to a 12 point deficit late as O'Meech Wilson (Glen Burnie, MD/North County) was able to bully his way in the paint, but the struggles in the early part of the half proved too much for the Dragons to come back from.

Mills led the way for Howard with 16 points and 9 rebounds while WIlson added 9 points and 10 rebounds. Emanuel Henruques scored 10 points off the bench, which proved to be the only bench points in the game for Howard. John Thomas (Baltimore, MD/Patterson) added 9 points while Taylor scored 8 and Bowie finished with 7. 

The Dragons will look to avenge their loss as they take on the Monroe College JV team on Sunday, January 7 at 2 PM.