The Ave Maria University men's basketball team surged early and held on late, and moved to 2-1 in Sun Conference play with a 92-88 victory over Johnson and Wales University. The Gyrenes led by as many as 16 early in the second half, and hit a number of free throws in the final two minutes to seal AMU's second conference win of the young season, a total that evens the mark from last season.
 
Ave Maria took an eight point lead into halftime at the Tom Golisano Field House, buoyed by a 62.1% shooting percentage. In the opening 20 minutes, the Gyrenes outrebounded Johnson and Wales 17-10, and outscored the Wildcats by ten in the paint. Tejai Allen and Deonte'
Dixon each scored 11 points in the first half, while Malik Mayeux hit every shot he took en route to eight points and five rebounds.
 
Johnson and Wales' rally would begin with 13:30 remaining in the contest, when the Gyrenes had claimed a 62-46 lead, the game's biggest. The Wildcats would get as close as two, 66-64, with 8:46 to go. The lead would fluctuate between two and eleven for the final eight minutes, and the Gyrenes would put the game away with seven free throws in the final 91 seconds of the contest.
 
Romello Bates was a major factor in Ave Maria's second half, scoring
15 of his game-high 24 points. Bates did not miss a shot from the field during the conference clash, and made 9 of his 13 free throws to go with five assists. Allen and Dixon scored 20 points each, and Mayeux fell one rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
For the game, Ave Maria shot 60.7% from the field, including making nearly 75 percent of their shots from inside the three-point line. The Gyrenes outscored Johnson and Wales 40-24 in the paint, and won the rebounding battle 32-25.
 
The Wildcats were led by TJ Johnson, who hit five three pointers in a
29 point effort. Ricardo Suarez added 18 points, and five different Wildcats scored at least ten points in the losing effort. Johnson and Wales hit 13 three-pointers in the game, and outscored the usually three-minded Gyrenes by 21 points from long distance.
 
Ave Maria continues Sun Conference play on Saturday afternoon against Warner University. The game is part of a women's and men's doubleheader, which tips off at 2 p.m. with the Gyrene women.