CLEARWATER, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team cruised to a 76-48 victory over Clearwater Christian on Thursday night to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Twelve different players scored in the win for the Gyrenes.
 
Ave Maria shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field and made 11 from behind the arc (11-of-17) to overwhelm Clearwater Christian. AMU outrebounded Clearwater 38-23. The Gyrenes held the Cougars to 35.8 percent (19-of-53) shooting from the field and to 3-of-19 shooting from three.
 
Julian Adams led a balanced scoring attack for the Blue and Green with 11 points. He tied Brandon Pasker and Akii Dean for the rebounding lead with five boards. Akii Dean and Nate Krimsky each had three assists.
 
AMU scored the first seven points of the game to jump out to a 7-0 lead before Clearwater Christian made a run of its own to cut the Gyrenes' lead to four, 14-10, at the 13:47 mark in the first half. The Blue and Green then went on a 27-4 run over the next ten minutes to pull away from the Cougars.
 
The Blue and Green didn't let up in the second half, extending their lead to a game-high 36 points, 64-28, with 7:24 remaining in the game. The second half was highlighted by an Adams dunk with 3:08 remaining. A couple late baskets by the Cougars made the final 76-48.
 
The Gyrenes dominated points off the bench, 43-8, and held a 32-16 scoring advantage in the paint.
 
Ave Maria returns to the court on Saturday when they welcome Covenant College (Ga.) to Tom Golisano Field House for the Gyrenes' 2014-15 home opener. The opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m.