AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team couldn't complete a frantic rally in the final minute, and fell 77-74 to Trinity College on Saturday afternoon at the Tom Golisano Field House. The Gyrenes trailed by nine with 1:09 to play, and pulled within one before a game-tying three fell short at the buzzer.
 
Ave Maria jumped out to an early eight-point lead, holding an 18-10 edge just under nine minutes into the contest. Trinity quickly closed the gap, and a back-and-forth finish to the frame saw Ave Maria with a 36-33 lead at halftime. The Gyrenes held the lead despite shooting under 35 percent from the field.
 
The see-saw nature of the game continued in the second half, as neither team led by more than four points until a Trinity three gave the Tigers a 61-55 lead with 5:33 remaining. Trinity's lead stretched to nine with 1:09 to play, after both teams shot technical foul shots. Ave Maria scored 14 points in the final minute, including three and-ones and eight points from Exor Torres. However, Trinity made eight of their final ten free throws, and a game-tying effort from Torres fell just short.
 
Torres racked up a career-high 23 points, including 13 in the second half. The junior made seven of his 12 shots, and amassed seven steals in the losing effort. Deonte Dixon set Ave Maria single game school records in field goals attempted (27) and three-pointers attempted (19). Dixon had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Gyrenes. Two others- Tejai Allen and Malik Mayeux- were in double figures with 16 and 10 points, respectively. The Gyrenes forced 27 turnovers from the Tigers, and blocked seven shots, led by four from Mayeux.
 
Trinity, who played 16 players in the Saturday afternoon contest, was led by John Coleman. Coleman scored 21 points, including 11 at the foul line. Coleman was the only Tiger in double figures, and was followed by nine point efforts from DeLino Dumas, D'Andre Manley, and Lorson Baptiste.
 
Following finals week on the Ave Maria University campus, the Gyrenes will play two games at the Tom Golisano Field House next week. AMU hosts Truett-McConnell College on Friday at 7 p.m., and welcomes Sterling College on Saturday at 3 p.m. These two games will be the last Gyrene home games until New Year's Eve.