AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Gyrenes were unable to overcome a poor shooting first half, falling to the visiting Florida Memorial Lions 70-64. AMU drops to 5-14 on the season and to 2-4 in Sun Conference play while Florida Memorial now sits at 8-9 overall and 3-3 against TSC opponents.
 
Ave Maria shot 36 percent for the game and just 29 percent in the first half. The Gyrenes were 7-of-24 from three and were 13-of-21 from the free throw line.
 
Brandon Dean finished with 23 points to go along with seven rebounds. Martez Harris added 17 points and nine rebounds. Nate Krimsky also finished in double-figure scoring with 13 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.
 
Florida Memorial shot 46 percent from the field and the Lions were 10-of-22 from three. The Lions also struggled from the free throw line, making 16 of their 25 attempts.
 
Samuel Dorismond led the Lions with 23 points. Travis Mitchell finished with a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Dean opened the game with back-to-back threes to help AMU jump out to an 8-0 lead two minutes into the game. Florida Memorial responded with a 10-2 run to even the score at 10-all. The teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the half with Florida Memorial heading to the break with a 28-25 advantage.
 
Seven minutes into the second half, Florida Memorial was able to extend its lead to 11, 50-39. The Blue and Green came back with a 13-1 run to take a 52-51 lead with 8:37 to play. With AMU trailing by two, a pair of quick baskets put the Lions in front by seven, 63-56. Florida Memorial made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Gyrenes 70-64.
 
The Gyrenes return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Lake Wales to take on Warner in a conference matchup. The game is set to tip at 7 p.m.