AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team snapped a four-game skid on Tuesday night when they defeated Florida Memorial, 72-54. The Blue and Green used a big second half, 42 points, to break open a three point game at the half.
 
Needing 17 points to eclipse 1,000 points in his career, Wendell Powell made 8-of-12 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line for a game high 25 points. Powell becomes the fourth Gyrene to surpass the career point milestone.
 
Brandon Dean also had a solid night, making 4-of-6 from behind the arc in route to 16 points. Jelani Bonner recorded another double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Exor Torres also scored in double-figures with 12 points.
 
The Gyrenes shot 54.8 percent (23-of-42) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from behind the arc. The AMU defense held the Lions to 54 points of 20-of-44 shooting from the field and 7-of-16 shooting from deep.
 
The Blue and Green got some baskets to drop early and jumped out to a six points lead, 10-4, just over four minutes into the game. But Florida Memorial didn't go away easily and took their first lead, 13-12, of the game at the 12:35 mark in the first half.
 
The teams went back-and-forth over the next few minutes before a three by Torres broke a 20-20 tie with 6:49 remaining in the half. AMU maintained a slim lead and took a three point advantage, 29-26, into the break.
 
A turning point in the game occurred at the 14:18 mark in the second half when Powell threw down a monstrous dunk followed by back-to-back treys by Dean to turn a two-point AMU edge into a 48-38 lead for the Gyrenes.
 
Ave Maria would maintain a double-digit lead for most of the remainder of the game, extending the lead to as many as 20, 67-47, with 2:34 remaining after a Torres three.