AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team remained unbeaten in Sun Conference play on Wednesday evening, thanks to an 88-82 victory over the Lions of Florida Memorial University at the Rhodora J. Donahue Academy gymnasium. The Gyrenes extended their winning streak over the Lions to seven games, dating back to January 2018, and moved to 2-0 in conference action.

Florida Memorial led for much of the first seven minutes of the contest, taking an early lead of 13-8. From that point, the Gyrenes ripped off 15 unanswered points, which included two three-pointers from Lucas Uzdavinis and once from Vince Ventulan. Ave Maria led by at least eight points, and by as many as 15 points, for the remainder of the first half, and took a 43-33 lead into the halftime break.

Ave Maria's halftime lead was powered by an edge in the paint - the Gyrenes shot 50 percent from two-point range in the opening 20 minutes, and held a 22-16 advantage in rebounding. Eight of Ave Maria's 22 first half rebounds came on the offensive glass, while FMU managed just three offensive rebounds. All five of Ave Maria's starters scored between six and ten points in the first half, while 31 of Florida Memorial's 33 points came from the Lions' starters.

The Lions scored the first six points of the half, cutting Ave Maria's lead down to four with 18:58 left. The AMU lead never got lower than four points, with the latest four-point lead coming with 12:15 on the clock. A pair of layups from Matt Gillis and Fernando Salsamendi pushed the lead back to eight points, and the Lions never truly threatened again, only getting the Ave lead back to six points in the closing seconds of the contest. 

AMU was outscored by four points in the second half, but kept their lead intact partially due to a 11-for-12 mark from the free throw line. The Gyrenes made enough shots - shooting 45.5 percent from the field - to offset a 52.5 percent mark by the Lions. 

Matt Gillis had his best game as a Gyrene in the win, scoring 27 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Fernando Salsamendi logged his third consecutive double-double with 20 points and eleven rebounds. Reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week Eric Klekas chipped in with 15 points, while freshman Chayse Culpepper added 12 points. Florida Memorial was led by Tristan Stephens, who scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds. 

The Gyrenes will have 12 days off before their next contest, which will see the Warriors of Webber International University come to Ave Maria on November 30. Tipoff of the final AMU athletic event of November is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.