AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria men's basketball team gave 12th-ranked Warner all they could handle on Saturday afternoon, falling to the visiting Royals 72-64. Brandon Dean led the Gyrenes with 24 points.
 
Martez Harris added 17 points for AMU while Julian Adams finished with 11 points. Nate Krimsky grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Gyrenes shot 44 percent from the field and made six threes in the upset bid. The Blue and Green were 14-of-21 from the free throw line compared to Warner who was 19-of-22 from the charity stripe. The Royals shot 37 percent on the afternoon.
 
Trailing for most of the opening half, Martez Harris tied the game for the third time when he knocked down a three to pull the game even at 35-all at the 2:06 mark. Warner responded with a trey and would maintain that advantage the rest of the half, taking a 40-37 lead into the break.
 
Exor Torres opened the second half with a three to tie the game at 40-40. A few minutes later Dean knocked down a trey to again tie the game and then hit a pair of free throws to give AMU a 45-43 lead. Warner responded with a 6-1 spurt to take a 50-46 lead. The Royals maintained a small lead for the next several minutes before a Julian Adams lay-in gave AMU a 59-58 lead with 6:55 to play.
 
Trailing by three, Martez Harris pulled the Blue and Green to within one, 64-63, with 3:06 to play but the Gyrenes went cold over the final three minutes as Warner outscored AMU 8-1 to come away with an eight point victory.
 
Ave Maria hits on the road next week when they travel to Keiser on Saturday for a conference matchup. The game is scheduled to tip at 4 p.m.