AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team battled their way to a season opening victory on Friday night, claiming an 87-72 victory over the Suns of Johnson University at the Rhodora J. Donahue Academy. The win, in head coach Jamon Copeland's first game back as head coach of the Gyrenes, was AMU's third consecutive win in season-opening games, dating back to the 2018-19 season.

Ave Maria never trailed in the first half, as Eric Klekas hit two three-pointers in the first two minutes to help AMU build an 8-0 lead. While Johnson was able to tie the game at 14, AMU responded by building their lead back up to ten points, 39-29, with three minutes to play in the half. After five unanswered points from the Suns cut the AMU lead to five, Chayse Culpepper hit a layup with 40 seconds left to account for a 41-34 lead at halftime for the Gyrenes.

AMU's three-point shooting was critical in the opening 20 minutes, with seven of Ave Maria's nine three-point attempts going in. The leader of the output was Klekas, who made five three-pointers en route to 15 first half points. As a team, the Gyrenes shot better than 50 percent from the field, and logged an assist on ten of their 16 made field goals.

Johnson continued to make it interesting in the second half, as the Suns rallied to take their first lead of the night, 62-61, with 8:38 on the clock. From that point on, the Gyrenes went on an 10-0 run to take a nine-point lead with 5:52 remaining. Johnson was never again able to get any closer than six points, and Ave Maria continued to extend their lead, which got as large as 15 points. 

In addition to the 12 three-pointers made by the Gyrenes, Ave Maria also used an edge on the glass to their advantage. AMU logged a 43-29 edge in rebounding, and pulled down 14 offensive rebounds. For the game, Ave Maria shot better than 50 percent in every facet of the contest: 50 percent (29-58) from the field, 66.7 percent (12-18) from three-point territory, and 70.8 percent (17-24) from the free throw line.

Klekas led all scorers with 25 points on Friday, with 21 of those points coming on seven three-pointers. Three other Gyrenes were in double figures, including 15 points from Fernando Salsamendi, 13 points from Lucas Uzdavinis, and eleven points from Chayse Culpepper in his collegiate debut. Salsamendi and Uzdavinis, as well as Joseph Hahnenberg, led the Gyrenes on the glass with seven rebounds a piece.

Each of Ave Maria's next four games will be away from Southwest Florida, starting on Wednesday night in Alabama. The Gyrenes will take on the Rams of the University of Mobile, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The road stretch will also include games against Pensacola Christian College, Florida College, and a neutral site affair against Brewton-Parker College.