BRUNSWICK, Ga.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point deficit to have a chance to win, but fell just short in a 64-62 loss to the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia on Thursday night. The Gyrenes withstood a 51.1 shooting percentage from the Mariners to nearly emerge with a road conference win.

After scoring the first field goal of the night on a three-pointer by Gianpaolo Riccio, the Gyrenes proceeded to surrender nine consecutive points, and did not regain the lead for the remainder of the contest. Coastal Georgia led by as many as 12 points in the first half, a lead that was the result of a 10-0 Mariner run that turned a 12-10 margin into a 22-10 edge. The Gyrenes were able to battle back within six points, and trailed 33-27 after the opening 20 minutes.

Ave Maria knocked down just three of their 16 three-point attempts in the first half, with Riccio making two as part of his eight-point effort. Nemanja Brankov led the Gyrenes with ten points, as the sophomore connected on five of his six field goal attempts. 

In the second half, the Mariner lead was 13 with 12:33 to go, 47-34. From there, the Gyrenes went on a 14-4 run to get within three points with less than eight minutes to go. The Coastal Georgia lead would never get back above five points, with the Gyrenes having a number of chances to take their first lead since the opening minutes. The final of these chances came in the final seconds, when a potential game-winner from Greenan Sullivan could not find the mark.

Riccio and Brankov proved to be the leaders for the Gyrenes in the losing effort, with the two combining for 36 of AMU's 62 points. Riccio made five three-pointers en route to 21 points, while Brankov added 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds off the bench. Romello Bates was two points short of a double-double, recording eight points and eleven rebounds. Coastal Georgia was led by Jaylen Smallwood, who posted 16 points. 

AMU will remain on the road on Saturday for a conference tilt with Thomas University. The Gyrenes and the Night Hawks will tip off at 4:00 p.m. as the nightcap of a men's and women's doubleheader.