AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team led by as many as nine points in the first half, but could not maintain the lead in a 65-51 loss to the Johnson and Wales University Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at the Tom Golisano Field House.

Ave Maria came out on fire from beyond the three-point arc, knocking down seven three-pointers in the first half. Greenan Sullivan was the catalyst of the long-distance effort, making four threes in the game's first ten minutes.The hot shooting helped Ave Maria take a 27-18 lead with 8:54 to play in the half. The Wildcats battled back to take a 33-32 lead, but the Gyrenes took a 38-35 advantage into the half after a three-pointer from Lucas Uzdavinis gave AMU the edge.

Johnson and Wales grabbed the lead for good in the early moments of the second half. The Wildcats scored the first ten points of the half to take a 45-38 lead. The Gyrenes got within two, but Johnson and Wales responded with a quick 6-0 run to push the lead to eight points. The Wildcats, who held the Gyrenes to 20 percent shooting in the second half, pulled away in the final minutes to claim the 14-point victory.

Sullivan hit five three-pointers for the game to account for his team-high 15 points. The other Gyrene in double figures was Nemanja Brankov, who had ten points. Jovan Grujicic nearly posted a double-double, recording nine points and eight rebounds. 

Three Wildcats were in double figures, led by Nick Preradovic, whose game-high 21 points paced Johnson and Wales. Gino Fils-Aime accounted for eleven points, and Isa Brandon recorded a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds on the afternoon.

The Gyrenes have just one game next week, a home game against the Southeastern University Fire. Ave welcomes the 11th ranked Fire to the Tom Golisano Field House for a 2:00 p.m., part of a doubleheader with the women's team.