TOCCOA FALLS, Ga.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team tipped off the 2019-20 season on a high note on Saturday afternoon, thanks to a 104-62 victory over the Screaming Eagles of Toccoa Falls College at the Lois DeLany Athletic Center. The Gyrenes made 18 three-pointers in the victory, the second highest single-game total in school history.
Ave Maria racked up 60 points in the first 20 minutes of the contest, thanks to a 57.1 percent mark from three-point territory (12-of-21). The final ten minutes of the first half saw AMU open up the score, as a 28-18 lead ballooned to 29 points thanks to a 32-13 Gyrene edge. Toccoa's final lead of the game came at the 14:55 point of the first half, when the Eagles led 10-9. From that point on, AMU outscored Toccoa Falls 51-21 for the remainder of the first half.
Lucas Uzdavinis led the way for Ave Maria in the first half, as the redshirt sophomore knocked down five three-pointers to account for 15 points. Returning All-American Leo Behrend made three three-pointers of his own to add 15 points, while Jeffrey Steel made five of his six shots, including both of his three-point attempts, to record 12 points for the visiting Gyrenes.
In the second half, the lead continued to grow for the Gyrenes, who led by as many as 46 points in the final 20 minutes of action. That action included a 12-0 run that featured three-pointers from freshman Joseph Hahnenberg and senior Greenan Sullivan, as well as six points from freshman Marcus Montalvo. In total, Ave Maria outscored Toccoa Falls 44-31 in the second half to account for the final margin of victory of 42 points.
Sullivan was AMU's leading scorer in the second half, with all three shots for the senior falling, including two-three pointers. Five Gyrenes scored at least five points in the frame, allowing Ave Maria to shoot better than 56 percent from the field as a team.
Six Gyrenes were in double figures in the victory, led by 24 points from Behrend. Two freshmen in Montalvo and Hahnenberg nearly posted double-doubles in their collegiate debuts, with Montalvo scoring ten points and Hahnenberg adding 14. Both freshmen pulled down nine rebounds. Steel (18), Uzdavinis (15), and Sullivan (14) also aided the scoring efforts. Toccoa Falls' leading scorer was Alex Forde, who made all three of his three-point attempts en route to a 13-point effort.
The Gyrenes head back on the road next weekend for a meeting between two NAIA National Tournament teams. Ave Maria will travel to Denmark, South Carolina to play the Tigers of Voorhees College. Last season, Voorhees won the Association of Independent Institutions championship, and was a number six seed in the NAIA Tournament. Tipoff at the Dawson Health and Human Resources Center is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. next Saturday.
