AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team earned their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Eagles of Trinity Baptist College, 74-54. The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak for Ave Maria, dating back to the final five games of last season.
Trinity Baptist started the game in control, thrice taking six-point leads of 10-4, 12-6, and 15-9. The 15-9 lead would be the largest and latest lead for the Eagles, as AMU went on a 13-2 run to take a 22-17 lead. After a Trinity Baptist layup, the Gyrenes closed the first half on an 8-2 run to take a 30-21 lead into halftime.
The Gyrenes continued to surge in the second half, and started the second half on a 10-2 run to take what was their biggest lead of the game of 17 points. A run-filled second half then saw the visiting Eagles score nine unanswered points to cut the AMU lead to eight before another 10-0 run gave the Gyrenes a 52-34 lead with 11:34 to play.
The Eagles would get as close as ten points in the final eleven minutes of the second half, but the Gyrenes kept the visitors at bay to get in the win column for the 2017-18 season.
Ave Maria was buoyed by their performance from three-point range. The Gyrenes knocked down 13 three-pointers, accounting for over half of AMU's 74 points. Leading the charge from long distance were Greenan Sullivan and Lucas Uzdavinis, who each hit three three-pointers.
Jovan Grujicic was AMU's leading scorer in the victory, scoring 13 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Grujicic formed a formidable one-two punch in the post with Nemanja Brankov, who grabbed eleven rebounds to go with five points. Josh Flowers was the other Gyrene in double figures, scoring ten points.
Two Eagles were also in double figures, as Marquel Perry scored 12 points and Jykayle Walker added ten.
With a victory under their belt, the Gyrenes enter Sun Conference play on Thursday night at home. Ave Maria welcomes Warner University to the Golisano Field House for a 7:00 p.m. The two teams played a classic in Ave Maria last season, as a buzzer-beater from Warner's Warren Hall proved to be the difference in overtime.
