Box Score FRONT ROYAL, Va.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team rolled to their sixth win of the season on Tuesday night, riding a huge first half to a 69-44 victory over Christendom College in Virginia. The game was the first of two for the Gyrenes in the greater Washington, D.C. area, and kept AMU undefeated in non-conference play.

The Gyrenes were dominant from the tipoff, scoring 22 of the game's first 24 points in the first 11:05 of the contest. Ave Maria also closed the half on a run, scoring 17 of the final 18 points to take a 36-point lead into the halftime break. The AMU defense forced eighteen turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, and forced Christendom to miss 17 of their 21 shots. Gianpaolo Riccio outscored the Crusaders by himself in the first half, scoring 19 points on 12 shots.

Christendom trimmed the massive Gyrene lead in the second half, outscoring Ave Maria 31-22. AMU's defense still forced eleven more turnovers in the second half, but the Crusaders were able to hit 50 percent of their attempts from the field. The Gyrenes hit just eight of their 27 shots in the final 20 minutes, led by a 3-for-3 effort from Romello Bates.

Riccio, who scored all 19 of his points in the first half, led all scorers in the victory. Bates made seven of his eleven shots to account for 16 points, and pulled down eleven rebounds to record his second straight double-double. Seven of the nine Gyrenes that saw time on the floor scored at least five points. Christendom was led by Luke Schultz, who posted a double-double with eleven points and ten rebounds.

Ave Maria's trip to Washington D.C. concludes on Wednesday, when the Gyrenes face Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Maryland. The final game of the roadtrip is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.