PENSACOLA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team rolled past Pensacola Christian College on Monday night, cruising to a 116-80 victory over the Eagles at the Arlin R. Horton Sports Center. In the victory, the Gyrenes set a new school record for points in a regulation game, and came within three points of the overall record, which was set in an overtime victory over Warner in 2012. AMU also set a school record for three-pointers attempted (43) in the victory.
All five Gyrene starters were in double figures on Monday night, led by 19 points each from Leo Behrend, Lucas Uzdavinis, and Marcus Montalvo.Behrend, the reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week, posted his second double-double of the season with eleven rebounds. Uzdavinis continued his hot shooting with six made three-pointers, accounting for 18 of his 19 points. Montalvo added five three-pointers and five assists in the victory.
Three other AMU players were in double figures, including Jeffrey Steel, Greenan Sullivan, and Stevan Krusevac. Steel scored 14 points, Krusevac scored eleven points as the leading Ave Maria scorer off the bench, and Sullivan had a team-high six assists to go with his ten points. Joseph Hahnenberg nearly posted a double-double for AMU, pulling down nine rebounds to go with nine points.
Ave Maria's 116-point effort was broken up between a 54-point first half and a 62-point second half. The Gyrenes were more efficient in the final 20 minutes of action, shooting 51.5 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from three-point territory, and making 19 of their 24 free throws.
In total, the Gyrenes made 17 three-pointers in the victory, a mark that ranks third in school history and ties for the most ever made in a road game. Ave Maria also set a single-game school record by making 33 free throws, breaking a record that had stood for nearly a decade.
The next game for the 3-0 Gyrenes will be an exhibition affair against NCAA Division I Florida International University on Friday night in Miami. The next regular season contest will come on Saturday afternoon, when the Gyrenes head to Temple Terrace for a meeting with Florida College. The Gyrenes defeated the Falcons in last season's opener on a buzzer beater by Behrend. Tipoff of the exhibition game against FIU is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., while the in-state NAIA matchup against the Falcons is slated for a 3:00 p.m. start.
