THOMASVILLE, Ga.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team rallied from a eleven-point halftime deficit on Thursday evening, and moved to 3-1 in conference play with a 70-63 victory over the Thomas University Night Hawks. Ave Maria put together one of their best halves of the season to erase Thomas' double-digit lead and earn their fifth consecutive victory over the Night Hawks.
Thomas was in control for much of the first half, building a halftime lead of 37-26. The Night Hawks concluded the half on an 18-5 over the final six and a half minutes, turning a 21-19 AMU lead into an eleven-point edge for Thomas. TU's first half lead was powered by a 51.5 percent mark from the field, as the hosts connected on 17 of their 33 field goal attempts. Conversely, the Gyrenes shot 38.7 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Fernando Salsamendi kept the Gyrenes afloat in the first half offensively, scoring 14 of the team's 26 points. Thomas' scoring was balanced in the first 20 minutes, with six players between four and eight points. Trint Bryant led the Night Hawks with eight points, while Daniel Merrius and Toriano Lewis both followed with six.
The Gyrenes began to rally in the second half, and came all the way back to take the lead, 54-53, on a jumper from Eric Klekas with 5:45 remaining. Klekas' jumper, which came in the midst of a 14-3 run, gave Ave Maria the lead for good. The Night Hawks hung around in the final five minutes, and came within three with 1:03 to play. A three-pointer from Matt Gillis with 38 seconds left essentially sealed the win for AMU
AMU, who scored seven straight points to stretch their lead from three to ten.
AMU's second half comeback saw the Gyrenes heat up from the field, as Ave Maria made 13 of their 19 field goal attempts, including four of their five three-point attempts. The Gyrenes also dominated on the glass in the final 20 minutes, grabbing 20 of 28 available rebounds. For the game, AMU shot 50 percent from the field, making 25 shots on 50 tries.
Salsamendi was the game's leading scorer, logging 24 points. The redshirt senior also posted his fourth double-double of the season with ten rebounds. Matt Gillis added 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Eric Klekas scored 12 points, all of which came in the second half. Thomas had three players in double figures, led by Merrius' 13 points.
Ave Maria's Georgia trip comes to an early end, as the team's scheduled Saturday game has been postponed to January. Thursday's game was AMU's final conference game of the 2020 calendar year, giving Ave Maria a 3-1 record in league play heading into 2021. The Gyrenes are next in action in a neutral site game on Wednesday evening against Truett-McConnell College. That game will be played in Lakeland on the campus of Southeastern University, and is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. tipoff.
