AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team (9-13, 2-9 TSC) will be playing two TSC games this week. They start things at home on Wednesday night when they host conference leader Embry-Riddle University who comes into the game ranked No. 2 in the country. On Friday, the Gyrenes travel to Miami Gardens to take on Saint Thomas University.
 
GYRENES RECAP
 
The Blue and Green ae coming off a 0-2 week in which they fell to both Johnson & Wales and Webber International University. The Gyrenes hung with Johnson & Wales early and went into the half tied 26-26. In the second half, Johnson & Wales was able to hold a small lead for a majority of the half. The Gyrenes kept it close and were only down by one point on multiple occasions down the stretch but they were not able to take the lead which resulted in AMU falling 58-51. Wendell Powell recorded eight points for AMU while Jelani Bonner added seven points and five rebounds for the Gyrenes.
 
Against Webber International, the Gyrenes came out firing on all cylinders. The three ball was falling and the Gyrenes lead by 12 points 21-9 with about eight minutes left in the half. Webber International slowly climbed back into the game and AMU went into the half leading by 2 points 28-26. Webber opened up the second half on a 9-2 run and they were able to hold on to the lead for the remainder of the game. The Gyrenes stayed within striking distance but they were not able to put together a run of their own which resulted in them falling 50-42. Brandon Dean led the Gyrenes with 17 points on the night. He also grabbed seven boards. Jelani Bonner recorded a game-high 13 rebounds to go with five points. Wendell Powell scored five points and tallied 10 rebounds.
 
GYRENE CATEGORY LEADERS
 
Points – Jelani Bonner, 13.8 PPG
Rebounds – Jelani Bonner, 8.5 RPG
Assists – Jelani Bonner, 31 Assists
Steals – Exor Torres, 32 Steals
Blocks – Nate Krimsky, 9 Blocks
 
SCOUTING EMBERY-RIDDLE
 
The Eagles of Embry-Riddle enter the week with a 21-1 overall mark and a 9-1 record in conference play. Embry-Riddle is riding a four game win streak and they come into the matchup as the No. 2 ranked team in NAIA Division II. The Eagles rank third in the NAIA in total assists per game with 20, and they rank fourth in FG % at 51%.  Individually DeForest Carter is their impact player. He comes into the game leading the country in steals with 83 (3.7 per game), and he ranks 4^th in total assists with 152 (6.9 per game).  The leading point scorer for the Eagles is Dalton Barnes who is averaging 14.6 points per game. Cesar Pastrana controls the boards for Riddle averaging 7.9 rebounds per game.
 
SCOUTING SAINT THOMAS
 
Saint Thomas comes in with an 11-9 overall record and a 6-5 mark in Sun Conference action. The Bobcats are riding a two game win streak with their last two victories against conference opponents Southeastern and Thomas University. The Bobcats average 75.4 points per game overall and just over 70 points per game against conference opponents. Saint Thomas is ranked 6^th in NAIA DII in steals per game averaging just over 10 per contest. They also come into the game ranked 8^th in offensive rebounds per game averaging 14.4 per contest.
 
Michael Walker comes in as their leading point scorer averaging 14.1 points per game. Walker also leads the team in steals with 44 averaging 2.5 per game. Mikon Hewitt leads the team in assists with 97 total averaging 4.85 per game.
 
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 (56.591)
• Ranks Number 1 in Division II in Total Rebound Defense (26.227)
• Ranks Number 4 in Division II in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.394)
• Ranks Number 13 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Pct Defense (0.313)
• Ranks Number 38 in Division II in Total Rebound Margin (4.409)
• Ranks Number 45 in Division II in Free Throw Pct (0.706)

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 22 in Division II in Total Rebounds per Game (8.524)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 24 in Division II in Defensive Rebounds per Game (5.857)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 28 in Division II in Total Total Rebounds (179)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 41 in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (2.667)
• Jelani Bonner Ranks Number 48 in Division II in Field Goal Pct (0.524)