JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team fell to the Trinity Baptist Eagles, 47-44, on Tuesday night. It was the first loss of the season for the Gyrenes who drop to 3-1 overall. AMU will return to action on Saturday when they host Florida College at 7 p.m.
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Wendell Powell led the Blue and Green with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jelani Bonner added 10 points for the Gyrenes. He also had seven rebounds and two steals.
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As a team, AMU shot 38 percent from the floor compared to 35 percent by Trinity Baptist. The Gyrenes were 3-of-14 from behind the arc. The Eagles made 7-of-29 from three. The teams combined for 33 turnovers (AMU-19, TBC-14).
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It took a few minutes for AMU to get into a rhythm offensively but a 9-0 run in the middle of the first half capped by an old-fashioned three point play by Brandon Dean put the Gyrenes up 16-9 with 9:23 remaining in the half.
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Trinity Baptist responded with a 10-0 run to retake the lead, 19-16, and AMU would go into the half trailing 24-21.
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The Eagles pushed their lead to 10 points in the early stages of the second half before AMU went on a 9-0 run to pull within one, 34-33, with 10:58 remaining. After a basket by Trinity Baptist, the Blue and Green went on a 7-0 spurt to take a 42-36 lead.
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The team went back-and-forth for the remainder of the game. Ave Maria led 44-43 with 2:16 to play after a jumper by Corey Davis. AMU was held scoreless in the final two minutes and a three by the Eagles put them ahead, 46-44. The Gyrenes had a couple chances to tie the game late but weren't able to find the bottom of the net.
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The game featured six ties and six lead changes.
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Ave Maria returns to the court on Saturday when they welcome Florida College to the Tom Golisano Field House for a 7p.m. tip-off.
