Game Highlights

AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team dropped their conference opener on Thursday night, losing to No. 25 Warner University 92-60. The Gyrenes found themselves in an early hole at the Tom Golisano Field House, and could never recover against the two-time defending Sun Conference Tournament champions.

Warner never trailed in the contest, and jumped out to a 29-9 lead after 12 and a half minutes of action. The Gyrenes hung around for the remainder of the first half, getting as close as eleven points with a 19-10 run. The visiting Royals pushed their halftime lead to 18 points, scoring the final seven points of the half to take a 50-32 lead into the break.

The Royals were dominant for much of the second half, outscoring the Gyrenes 42-28 in the final 20 minutes of the contest. The Royals led by as much as 36 in the second half, cruising to their second Sun Conference victory of the season.

Four of Ave Maria's five starters were in double figures in the losing effort. Joan Povea was the team's leading scorer, making eight free throws to account for most of his 12 points. Greenan Sullivan scored 11, while Jovan Grujicic and Stevan Krusevac each added ten points. Nemanja Brankov was AMU's leading rebounded, grabbing eight.

Warner, who shot 54.2 percent from the floor, was led in the scoring column by Khalil Ozuna, who converted 10 of his 18 attempts into 22 points. Nick Macon nearly recorded a double-double for the Royals, scoring 21 points and dishing out eight assists. The Royals forced 24 AMU turnovers in the victory, and turned them into 38 points.

Ave Maria remains in Sun Conference play on Saturday afternoon with a game against the Warriors of Webber International University. Tipoff against the Warriors is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Babson Park.