AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team shot 58.9 percent from the field on Saturday night to cruise in their home opener, 92-54, against Covenant College.
 
Freshman Branson Pasker made 9-of-12 from the field and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free thrown line en route to a game-high 28 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds in 35 minutes.
 
Jelani Bonner and Akii Dean each finished in double-figures with 19 points and 13 points, respectively.
 
As a team, the Gyrenes made 33-of-56 from the field and 22-of-25 from the charity stripe. AMU outrebounded Covenant 43-14 and outscored them in the paint 58-8.
 
Ave Maria fell behind early as Covenant College made three field goals from behind the arc in four possessions to jump out to an 18-10 lead nearly eight minutes into the game.
 
The Blue and Green scored the next eight points, six by Bonner, to tie the game at 18. Trailing by four, 26-22, AMU went on a 22-4 run to close out the half to take a 44-30 lead into the break. A three by Ralph Erickson in the final seconds of the half punctuated the run.
 
The Gyrenes' defense came out strong in the second half, holding Covenant without a point for the first three minutes which allowed the AMU offense to extend the lead to 22, 52-30.
 
Ave Maria cruised the rest of the way en route to a 94-57 victory to improve to 3-0 on the season.
 
The Blue and Green return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to take on Trinity Baptist College at 6 p.m.