MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday evening, as the St. Thomas University Bobcats topped the Gyrenes, 71-65, at the Fernandez Family Center in Miami Gardens. The Gyrenes were done in by a 46-26 rebounding margin, as well as a 20 percent mark from beyond the three-point arc.

St. Thomas led for much of the first half, including holding a nine-point lead of 32-23 with 5:10 on the clock. The Gyrenes finished the half on a 15-7 run, a surge led by redshirt senior Fernando Salsamendi. The All-Conference player scored each of AMU's final eight points in the halftime, including six unanswered, to get STU's lead down to 39-38 entering the halftime break.

Salsamendi was the key to the Ave Maria effort in the first half, making seven of his ten shots en route to 16 points. Chayse Culpepper also added ten points, making four of his five attempts. Despite shooting ten percent (1-for-10) from three-point territory, the Gyrenes shot 50 percent from the field, thanks to a 70 percent mark from inside the arc. St. Thomas' leader in the first half was Dwayne Russell, who had 13 points and nine rebounds.

The second half was hotly contested, with the margin never eclipsing four points until the final minute. There were eleven lead changes in the final 20 minutes, with the last coming with 2:29 to play, when a jumper from Justyn Rogers gave the Bobcats the lead for good. The Gyrenes trailed by one again after a layup from Joseph Hahnenberg, but a three-pointer from Lee Richmond, followed by two missed free throws from AMU, essentially sealed the result for the hosts.

Three Gyrene players were in double figures on Saturday, led by 23 points from Salsamendi. Eric Klekas, who was AMU's leading scorer in the second half, added 14 points, while Culpepper had 13. As a team, AMU shot 41.8 percent from the field, but made just four of their 20 attempts from three-point territory. The Gyrenes were also hurt by a 46-26 margin in rebounding, which included 17 offensive rebounds for the Bobcats to just four for Ave Maria.

Four Bobcats had double digit scoring days, and three - Russell, Dante Pace, and Rogers, all had 15 points. Russell and Rogers both had double-doubles, as Russell grabbed 14 rebounds and Rogers accounted for 12. 

There is little rest for the Gyrenes, who will travel to the Peach State for a rare Monday night contest against the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia. The game, which was rescheduled from early December due to COVID issues within the Mariner program, will tip off at 7:30 p.m. in Brunswick. The Gyrenes will look to extend their winning streak against the Mariners to five games, a stretch that includes the 2019 Sun Conference Tournament championship game. It will be the first of three games this upcoming week for AMU, as games with Webber and Warner loom on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.