AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of The Sun Conference Tournament on Tuesday night, thanks to a dominant 89-67 victory over the fifth-seeded Royals of Warner University at the Tom Golisano Field House. The victory ensured fourth-seeded Ave Maria's second consecutive trip to the conference Final Four, as well as the program's second straight 20 win season. Both acheivements mark program firsts.
It did not take long for the Gyrenes to assert their control of Thursday night's quarterfinal, as Ave Maria jumped out to an -1 lead in the first four minutes. The fast start ensured the Gyrenes would never trail in their final home game of the 2019-20 season. Despite Warner coming within one point, the Gyrenes would continue to build their lead throughout the half. In the final nine minutes of the frame, AMU's lead was never less than eleven points, and climbed as high as 29 points. Entering the locker room, the Gyrenes held a 25-point lead at 50-25.
AMU was stellar on both ends of the floor in the opening 20 minutes, helping the Gyrenes to a commanding lead. Ave Maria shot 54.5 percent from the field, and knocked down 60 percent of their three-point attempts. Defensively, AMU held a dangerous Warner team to just a 25 percent mark from the field. One of the nation's top three-point defense teams, the Gyrenes forced 12 misses on 14 attempts from long distance from the Warriors in the first half.
Ave Maria continued the pressure in the second half, and led by 21 or more points for the entirety of the final 20 minutes. A pair of monster dunks from senior Leo Behrend helped keep the momentum fulling in the direction of the Gyrenes. Warner did outscore Ave Maria in the second half, but were never able to put together a run that threatened the sizable lead for the home team.
The Gyrenes shot above 50 percent from the field in the second half as well, and ended the game with a 53.2 percent mark from the field. Ave also shot better than 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc for the game, making 13 of their 25 attempts. AMU shared the ball exceptionally well in the victory, as 24 of the team's 33 made field goals came with an assist. On the other end of the floor, Warner shot just 34.8 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three-point distance.
In his final game on the Tom Golisano Field House floor, Behrend scored a game-high 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The senior was one of five Gyrenes in double figures, leading an effort that included 19 from Marcus Montalvo, 13 from Fernando Salsamendi, and 12 each from Greenan Sullivan and Jeffrey Steel. Maxwell Benoit was the leading scorer for the Royals, logging 23 points in his final game of the season.
For the second consecutive year, the Southeastern University Fire await the Gyrenes in the tournament semifinals. The Gyrenes will face the top-seeded Fire on Friday at The Furnace in Lakeland, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The winner of that contest will face either St. Thomas or Keiser for the conference championship on Saturday night in Lakeland.
