AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team suffered their first conference loss of the 2019-20 season on Saturday afternoon, as the St. Thomas University Bobcats claimed an 80-70 victory at the Tom Golisano Field House. The Gyrenes are now 5-1 in conference play, and sit in a tie for second place, behind Keiser and even with Southeastern.

Both teams held leads of at least five points in the first half, with the Gyrenes leading by as many as five and the Bobcats holding an eight-point lead late in the frame. St. Thomas went on a 9-4 lead in the final three and a half minutes of the first half, which gave the Bobcats a 37-30 lead after the opening 20 minutes of the contest.

Justin Brown and Ahmad Gilbert combined for 26 of St. Thomas' 37 points in the first half, with Brown leading the way with 15 points. Marcus Montalvo was the leading scorer for Ave Maria in the first half, as the freshman scored eleven points. Jeffrey Steel added eight points on five shots in the opening 20 minutes for AMU.

Ave Maria regained the lead in the second half, as the Gyrenes led by six points with 8:05 to play. However, the Bobcats would rally to take the lead for good on a layup from Ahmad Gilbert with 4:21 on the clock. St. Thomas did not lead by less than one possession in the final three minutes of the contest, and made seven of eight free throw attempts in the final minute to pull away from the nationally ranked Gyrenes.

Four Gyrenes were in double figures in the losing effort, led by 17 points from Montalvo. Steel added 16 points, Fernando Salsamendi had 12 points, and Lucas Uzdavinis rounded out the group with eleven. The tandem of Brown and Gilbert powered the win for St. Thomas with 50 combined points - Brown scored 26 points, and Gilbert pulled down nine rebounds to go with his 24 points.

The Gyrenes were done in on the offensive glass, as the Bobcats turned 14 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points. Ave Maria shot just 33.3 percent from three-point territory, making seven of 21 long distance attempts.

A huge game awaits the Gyrenes on Thursday night, as Ave Maria heads to the Countess de Hoernle Student Life Center in West Palm Beach for a meeting with Keiser University. AMU has never beaten Keiser in program history, and the Seahawks are currently undefeated in Sun Conference play. Tipoff in West Palm Beach is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game between the schools.