AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team pulled off a stunning comeback on Tuesday night, rallying from 16 points down with less than eight minutes to play to knock off Florida College, 82-80 at the Tom Golisano Field House. Leo Behrend scored the last of his 28 points on a buzzer-beating jumper to give AMU the win.

Ave Maria raced out to a quick start, hitting two three-pointers and converting an and-one in the first 3:10 of the game to grab a 9-3 lead. Florida College grabbed control from there, scoring 12 unanswered points to build their lead to six points. After taking the lead with the 12-0 run, the Falcons did not relinquish the lead in the first half, and led by as many as 12 points (32-20 with 5:42 to play). The visitors held a ten-point lead, 44-34, at halftime. Florida College's Andrew Voss led all scorers in the first half with 14, while 13 points from Behrend paced the Gyrenes.

The Gyrenes started strong again in the second half, scoring the first seven points to cut the Falcon lead to three. The contest stayed close for the first eight minutes or so of the second half, with the Falcons unable to stretch their lead back to double digits. Florida College did go on a run in the middle portion of the frame, outscoring the Gyrenes 18-5 over a five-and-a-half minute stretch to increase their lead to 16 points with 7:30 to play, setting up Ave Maria's comeback.

Over the final 7:30 of the game, the Gyrenes gradually chipped away at the Falcon lead. A major run started at the 5:30 mark, when the Gyrenes ripped off 11 consecutive points to cut a 13-point lead for FC down to two. After a three-pointer from the Falcons bumped the lead back to five, a Greenan Sullivan three-pointer trimmed the edge back to two points. 

After the Falcons missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:49 to play, Gianpaolo Riccio knocked down a jumper with 1:21 to tie the game at 80. The teams traded possessions, with Florida College's last shot missing with ten seconds left. As the clock ticked away, Ave Maria found Behrend just inside the three-point arc. The junior, playing in his first game at the Tom Golisano Field House, buried the shot, sparking a wild celebration from the students in attendance.

Including the game-winner, Behrend led all scorers with 28 points, and added nine rebounds. Riccio chipped in with 18 points for the Gyrenes, while Sullivan hit three three-pointers en route to 12 points off the bench. For Florida College, Voss and Stefan Nakic-Vojnovic both scored 18 points.

Following the wild home victory, the Gyrenes will head on the road for a matchup with Trinity Baptist College on Friday in Jacksonville. Tipoff in Jacksonville against the Eagles is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Ave Maria will be back at home on Saturday, November 17, when the Gyrenes battle Webber International University as part of a doubleheader.