LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team led from wire-to-wire on Wednesday evening, cruising to an 85-73 victory over the Bears of Truett McConnell University. Four AMU starters were in double figures to power the Gyrenes to their sixth win of the 2020-21 season. The game was a neutral site affair played at The Furnace on the campus of Southeastern University, and was part of the SEU Classic, a series of games played this week in Lakeland.

The Gyrenes scored the first seven points of the game, and had an eight point lead opened up in the first five minutes of the contest. AMU's biggest run of the half was a stretch of just over three minutes, where an 11-0 Ave Maria run increased a two-point lead to a 27-14 edge with 8:52 remaining in the half. The Bears were able to hang around, outscoring the Gyrenes 18-10 from that point on to cut the Ave Maria lead to 37-32 entering the halftime break.

Matt Gillis was the sparkplug for the Gyrenes in the first half, scoring 13 points on just seven shots. Ave Maria's five-point halftime lead was powered primarily inside the arc, as AMU outscored the Bears 26-12 on two-point shots, overcoming an 18-9 TMU lead from long distance.

An early run re-established control for the Gyrenes early in the second half. After the teams traded buckets in the first minute, Ave Maria put together a 17-2 run that turned a 39-34 lead into a 56-36 edge with 15:19 on the clock. Truett McConnell put a scare into the Gyrenes down the stretch, getting as close as seven with 2:23 left. However, back-to-back layups from AMU, sandwiched around a TMU miss, increased the lead to eleven with 1:20 to play and put the game away. 

Ave Maria did an excellent job getting to the free throw line in Lakeland, making 17 of 22 attempts. Following a 50 percent mark in the second half, the Gyrenes posted a 47 percent mark from the field, while holding Truett McConnell to 37.5 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point territory.

Jose Sanchez had a career game in the victory, scoring 26 points and pulling down seven rebounds. The Spainard made ten of his 12 field goal attempts over 35 minutes on the floor. Fernando Salsamendi and Vince Ventulan both added double-doubles, as Salsamendi logged 20 points and ten rebounds while Ventulan had ten points and eleven rebounds. Gillis rounded out a quartet in double figures with 19 points.

AMU returns to the floor on Saturday, as the Gyrenes head to Jacksonville for a meeting with the Eagles of Trinity Baptist College. Ave Maria will look for their seventh win of the season, and third in a row, in their final road game of the 2020 calendar year. The Gyrenes are also in search of their fifth consecutive win over Trinity Baptist, a streak that dates back to the 2015-16 season. Tipoff in Jacksonville is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.