BRUNSWICK, Ga.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team got back in the win column, and remained in first place in The Sun Conference, with an 86-73 victory over the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia. The win was AMU's fifth straight in the series, a stretch that has seen the Gyrenes score at least 80 points in all five games.

Ave Maria started off blazing hot on Monday night, scoring on four of their first five possessions to jump out to a 9-0 lead. Coastal Georgia, however, responded with a 15-2 run that gave the Mariners what proved to be their largest lead of the game at 15-11. In a first half dominated by runs, the next one belonged to Ave Maria, who scored ten unanswered points to retake the lead. The Gyrenes would not relinquish the lead from that point, and took a 39-30 lead into the halftime break. 

AMU shot 53.3 percent from the field in the first half, led by eleven points each from Eric Klekas and Matt Gillis. The Gyrene defense also forced 12 turnovers from Coastal Georgia, and held the Mariners to just two made three-pointers on 14 attempts. Coastal Georgia's first half leaders were Kenny Brown and Jordan Parks, who both had seven points.

Another big Ave Maria run allowed the Gyrenes to put the game away in the second half. Leading just 46-44 with 16:52 on the clock, AMU proceeded to go on a 19-4 run, capped off by an Eric Klekas three-pointer that gave the Gyrenes a 65-46 advantage with 11:34 remaining. The Ave Maria lead would not dip back below eleven points, and AMU's 62.1 percent mark from the field allowed the visitors to cruise to their fourth conference win.

For the seventh time this season, the Gyrenes shot better than 50 percent from the field. Monday's performance was their best of the season, as Ave Maria logged a 57.6 percent mark from the field. The Gyrenes also tied a season high with 12 made three-pointers, shooting 46.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc, their third best total of the season.

All five Ave Maria starters were in double figures, led by a 17-point effort from Fernando Salsamendi. Salsamendi was also the leading Gyrene rebounder, pulling down six defensive rebounds. Klekas and Gillis followed with 16 each, while Lucas Uzdavinis (12) and Chayse Culpepper (11) rounded out the group. The game's leading scorer was Coastal Georgia's Jordan Parks, who scored 20 points off the bench for the Mariners.

The Gyrenes, who are tied with Keiser at 4-2 atop The Sun Conference, remain on the road this Thursday for their second meeting of the season with the Webber International University Warriors. Ave Maria will be looking to avenge one of their two conference losses, an 82-80 defeat on November 30. Tipoff between the Gyrenes and the Warriors is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Babson Park, which will follow the women's game between the two schools.