AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team (9-11, 2-7 TSC) hit the road on Thursday night when they travel to North Miami to take on Johnson & Wales in a TSC matchup. The Blue and Green then return home for a Saturday tilt against rival Webber International at 7:30 p.m.
 
GYRENES RECAP
 
The Blue and Green ae coming off a 1-2 week in which they fell to No. 20 Northwood and Warner before upsetting Thomas in Thomasville, Ga. The Gyrenes hung with Northwood and held a 36-35 lead with eight minutes to go before the Seahawks closed the game on a 17-4 run.
 
Against Warner, the Gyrene defense continued its strong play, holding the Royals to 16 points below their season average, but the AMU offense wasn't able to keep up with Warner late. Jelani Bonner recorded a double-double for the Gyrenes with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
On Saturday, the Gyrenes defeated a surging Thomas team who was coming off a week that featured Night Hawk wins over No. 2 and previously undefeated Embry-Riddle and No. 20 Northwood. The Blue and Green shot 50 percent from the field (20-of-40) and from behind the arc (7-of-14). The AMU defense held Thomas to 35.6 percent shooting (21-of-59) from the field and 23.8 percent from three (5-of-21). Wendell Powell led the Blue and Green with 14 points and eight rebounds
 
GYRENE CATEGORY LEADERS
 
Points – Jelani Bonner, 14.6 PPG
Rebounds – Jelani Bonner, 8.5 RPG
Assists – Jelani Bonner, 29 Assists
Steals – Exor Torres, 29 Steals
Blocks – Nate Krimsky, 8 Blocks
 
SCOUTING JOHNSON & WALES
 
The Wildcats of Johnson & Wales enter the week with an 11-8 overall mark and a 6-3 record in conference play. JWU has won two of its last three matches with the lone loss coming to then unbeaten Embry-Riddle. The Wildcats rank sixth in the NAIA in total rebound margin, outrebounding their opponents by 8.5 boards a game. The will also bring in a stout defense, allowing 65.4 points per game.
 
Ricardo Suarez ranks 13th in the NAIA in field goal percentage, making baskets at a .592 clip. Suarez leads the Wildcats with 17.1 points per game and grabs a team best eight boards a game. He also leads JWU with 28 steals.
 
SCOUTING WEBBER INTERNATIONAL
 
Webber International comes in with an 8-13 overall record and a 5-4 mark in Sun Conference action. The Warriors fell in their last game, a 69-66 decision, at Johnson & Wales. The Warriors average 69.3 points per game overall and just over 70 points per game against conference opponents. Webber ranks 34th in NAIA Division II in blocks per game with 3.2 per contest. They have 68 blocks on the season.
 
Dewaine Lyals leads the team in points (11.1), rebounds (6.95), and blocks (1.5) per game. Lyals ranks 20th in the NAIA in blocks per game and 22nd in total blocks with 32 on the season. Jovany Deceus has also recorded 28 blocks for Webber.
 
AMU HIGHLIGHTS AND NAIA DIVISION II NATIONAL RANKINGS (AS OF 1/7)
 
TEAM RANKINGS
 

• Ranks Number 1 in Division II in Scoring Defense per Game (57.150)
• Ranks Number 1 in Division II in Total Rebound Defense (26.400)
• Ranks Number 3 in Division II in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.392)
• Ranks Number 15 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Pct Defense (0.318)
• Ranks Number 37 in Division II in Free Throw Pct (0.713)
• Ranks Number 38 in Division II in Total Rebound Margin (4.400)

 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
 

• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 23 in Division II in Total Rebounds per Game (8.474)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 24 in Division II in Defensive Rebounds per Game (5.789)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 31 in Division II in Total Total Rebounds (161)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 37 in Division II in Field Goal Pct (0.547)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 40 in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (2.684)