AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team rallied in the final two minutes on Saturday evening, and pulled out a 96-90 victory over the Lions of Florida Memorial University at the Tom Golisano Field House. The Gyrenes trailed by three with 2:18 to play, but proceeded to score ten unanswered points over the next two minutes to stay unbeaten.

Much of the first ten minutes of the contest was closely contested, with neither team's lead growing any larger than three points. The first big run of the game was provided by the Gyrenes, who scored nine unanswered points to open up a 25-16 lead. Although the Gyrenes did not trail for the remainder of the first half, Florida Memorial was able to chip back into the AMU lead, including tying the game with 31 seconds left in the half. Jeff Steel scored with 13 seconds left on a layup, giving the Gyrenes a 44-42 halftime lead.

Saturday marked the season debut of Fernando Salsamendi, who was AMU's leading scorer in the first half. The transfer from Brazil scored 12 points on just six shots, and pulled down five rebounds off the bench. Two Lions led Florida Memorial with 12 points each, as well, as Mubashar Ali and Jordan Martin each scored 12 points on eight shots.

Ave Maria opened up a nine-point lead with 13:47 to play, but the Lions battled back to tie the game with 9:37 on the clock. From that point, neither team led by more than four points. Florida Memorial led by three points on three different spots in the final ten minutes, including as late as following two free throws from Freddy Reeves with 2:18 to play. 

Trailing by three, Ave Maria's highflying attack took over. The next four Gyrene possessions all ended with points in the paint on two Leo Behrend dunks and two layups from Salsamendi. After trailing by three, the Gyrenes would score the next ten points, and salt the game away with free throws in the closing seconds.

Behrend scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to guide the Gyrenes to the win in the conference opener. Four other Gyrenes were in double figures, led by 19 from Salsamendi. Marcus Montalvo (14), Greenan Sullivan (12), and Jeffrey Steel also exceeded ten points in the win. Four Lions were also in double figures, with Jordan Martin's 23 points off the bench leading the way for Florida Memorial.

AMU will play next on Thursday night, as the Gyrenes head to Georgia for a pair of games. The Gyrenes will play Thomas University on Thursday before a rematch of the 2019 Sun Conference Tournament championship game on Saturday against Coastal Georgia.