MIAMI, FL – The Cabrini men's basketball team closed its Miami experience with an 87-76 win over Eastern Connecticut State University today at the HoopMIA Division III Holiday Classic in Miami.

With the victory, the Cavaliers improved to 7-2 overall, while the Warriors fell to 9-2.

Senior Tyheim Monroe led the Blue and White with his ninth double-double, pairing 24 points and 12 rebounds with a career best nine steals.

Monroe was one of four Cavaliers to score in double figures, as sophomore Keith Blassingale notched a career best 26 points.  Junior Ivan Robinson stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while freshman DJ Smith hit 4-7 from three point range en route to 13 points.  

Both teams exchanged the lead in the early going, but a Robinson jumper pushed Cabrini's lead to 20-14 at the 11:28 mark.  Despite its lead, the Cavaliers could not pull away, as the Warriors slowly chipped away at their deficit.

A jumper by Tarchee Brown punctuated a 6-0 Eastern Connecticut State run, giving the club a slim 33-31 lead with 3:30 left in the first half.

Cabrini's deficit was short lived, as Blassingale scored the Blue and White's next five points for a 36-33 lead.

Despite shooting just 4-16 from three point range in the opening 20 minutes, the Cavaliers carried a 40-36 lead into the halftime break on the strength of a combined 29 points from Blassingale, Robinson and Smith.

The Warriors regained the lead 90 seconds into the second stanza after Cory Muckle connected on two of three free throws.  The Cavaliers retook the lead for good on its next possession on a Smith triple.

Smith's bucket sparked Cabrini to a 14-0 spurt, as it established a 56-43 lead at the 16:35 mark, the Blue and White's largest lead of the day.

Eastern CT State would not go away, as, again, it slowly chipped away as its deficit. A Carlos Gonzalez three pointer pulled the Warriors back to within 56-53 just three minutes later.

Cabrini's lead ranged between 2-7 points over the next eight minutes, until a quick 6-0 pushed the advantage to 77-68 with 4:40 to play.

The Cavaliers never allowed the Warriors to get closer than five points, as the Blue and White went 6-8 from the free throw line in the game's final 90 seconds.

After posting just four points and three rebounds in the first half, Monroe put his mark on the game after the half, recording 20 points and nine boards in the second half.

Brown led the Warriors with Warriors with 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Kendall Marquez added 12 points.

The Blue and White will return to Colonial States Athletic Conference play on January 3, when they make the trip north to Centenary University (2-7, 0-3 CSAC).  The ball will go up at 7pm in Hackettstown, NJ.