AVE MARIA, Fla. --- With Ave Maria leading by one in the final minute, Coastal Georgia used a basket and-one and a pair of late free throws to edge the Gyrenes, 71-68, in a nail-bitter at Tom Golisano Field House on Thursday night.
 
It's a quick turnaround for both teams as Ave Maria will host Thomas on Saturday at 2 p.m. while Coastal Georgia heads to Southeastern. Ave Maria drops to  2-15 on the season and to 0-6 in Sun Conference play.
 
After a sluggish opening few minutes saw the Mariners jump out to a 9-2 lead, the Gyrenes were able to get some shots to fall and pulled to within one, 13-12, after a three by Jonathan Simmons. A couple minutes later, a lay-up by Nemanja Brankov put the Gyrenes up one. Coastal Georgia, who led by as many as 15 in the first half, ended the half on a 17-9 run to take a 42-32 edge into the break.
 
Ave Maria hit a trio of threes in the opening minutes of the second to close the deficit to four and tied the game at 49-all with 11:15 to play. After a three by the Mariners a 9-0 run capped by a three by Gianpaolo Riccio gave AMU a 58-52. With AMU up by eight (62-54) and 6:07 to play, Coastal Georgia went on a 10-1 run to retake the lead by one.
 
A few minutes later, Stevan Krusevac nailed a three-pointer with 45 seconds to play to give AMU a two point edge. On the ensuing Mariner possession, Haylen Washington made a lay-up and was fouled for the old-fashioned three-point play to give CCGA a 69-68 lead. After a missed basket by AMU, Coastal Georgia knocked down both free throws to make it a three point game. The Gyrenes got a good look in the final seconds but weren't able to convert.
 
Brankov led four Gyrenes in double-figures with 16 points. He also tallied 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Riccio tallied his first double-double as a Gyrene with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Ave Maria shot 39.3 percent from the field and were 10-of-31 from three. Coastal Georgia finished at 41 percent from the field and 3-of-18 from behind the arc. Both teams made 10 free throws on the night.