AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team trimmed a 16-point second deficit down to one on Saturday evening, but could not come all the way back in an 85-82 defeat at the hands of the Warner University Royals at the Rhodora J. Donahue Academy gymnasium. The Gyrenes had a half-court shot at the buzzer, which would have sent the game into overtime, miss just left to come up three points short against The Sun Conference's first place team.

Warner was in control for much of the first half, taking a 41-31 lead into halftime. A key run for the Royals, who never trailed in the game's opening 20 minutes, came in the closing moments of the frame. Warner went on an 9-0 run to turn a 4-point lead into a 13-point edge, a stretch that included back-to-back three-ponters from Joseph Martz and Josh Glesil and an and-one from Jaquez Dickerson. AMU scored six of the final nine points in the half, trimming Warner's lead to ten points entering the break.

A balanced effort led Warner to their ten-point halftime lead, as five players had between six and nine points. The Royals also used a 24-18 edge on the glass, including eight offensive rebounds, to keep the Gyrenes at bay. Two players -  Chayse Culpepper and Fernando Salsamendi had seven points to lead AMU over the first 20 minutes. Ave Maria shot 35.7 percent from the field in the first, but made three of their six three-point attempts.

Despite trailing by 16 points with 13:47 remaining, the Gyrenes battled back to make it a game. Immediately following Warner's 16-point lead, the Gyrenes went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead in half. After Warner pushed their lead back to 13 with 4:53 left, the Gyrenes outscored the Royals 19-7 to get within one with six seconds left. Warner's Martz made both of his free throws with three seconds on the clock, and a half-court heave from Chayse Culpepper was just off the mark. 

In total, nine players were in double figures - five Royals and four Gyrenes. Ave Maria was led by Salsamendi, who had 19 points and eight rebounds. Culpepper added 15 points, while Eric Klekas chipped in with 14. Off the bench, Jose Sanchez scored ten points to round out the quartet. Warner's five double figure scorers were led by Martz and Dickerson, who both scored 18 points. Jordin Jackson, Logan West, and Darryl Mercer all eclipsed ten points, as well.

The Gyrenes will have a full week to prepare for their next contest, which will come against the Fire of Southeastern University. The Gyrenes and the Fire have played in The Sun Conference Tournament semifinals in each of the past two seasons, with AMU winning in 2018 and SEU winning in 2019. Both teams would go on to win the conference title, making Saturday's game a meeting between the last two conference tournament champions. Tipoff in Ave Maria is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.