THOMASVILLE, Ga.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team withstood a second half rally from the Thomas University Night Hawks, and emerged with a 67-58 win in Thomasville. The Gyrenes moved to 2-1 in Sun Conference play with the road victory, which extended Ave Maria's winning streak over the Night Hawks to seven games, with each of the last six decided by ten points or fewer.

The first ten minutes of the game saw the Gyrenes jump out to a 19-4 lead, with AMU's scoring spread across their starting five. That surge held for the remainder of the first half, as the Night Hawks did not get closer than seven points, and the lead grew as large as 16 points, 34-18. Thomas was able to score the final four points of the half, cutting the Gyrene lead to 34-22 at halftime. 

Ave Maria's shooting was efficient in the first half, as the Gyrenes shot 53.6 percent from the field. The Gyrenes were especially adept inside the arc, with eleven of the team's 18 two-point attempts connecting. On the other end of the floor, AMU held the Night Hawks to a 32.3 percent mark from the field, and forced misses on nine of Thomas' ten three-point attempts. 

Thomas came all the way back in the second half, tying the score at 53 with 4:59 to play following a pair of Trint Bryant free throws. The Night Hawks had two chances to take the lead, but missed both shots. Daryl Lewis gave AMU the lead for good with a three-pointer with 3:37 to play, and Chayse Culpepper added an and-one with 2:41 left to push the lead to six. Thomas got back within three, but AMU then scored seven straight points to put away the scrappy hosts. 

AMU's biggest advantage in the victory came inside the arc, as the Gyrenes made 19 of their 34 attempts from two-point territory, good for a 55.9 percent mark. In total, Ave Maria shot 51 percent from the field, and knocked down more than 40 percent of their three-point tries. Thomas shot 42.6 percent from the field, but were ice cold from deep, missing 14 of their 16 three-point attempts.

Every one of Ave Maria's 67 points were scored by the Gyrenes' starting five. Chayse Culpepper led the way with 20 points, and Daryl Lewis followed with 15. Klajd Kiri posted a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds, and Matt Gillis nearly joined him with eleven points and nine rebounds. Eric Klekas rounded out the quintet with ten points. In total, the Gyrenes used just seven players, with Joseph Hahnenberg and Sean Klekas the lone players to come off the bench. 

Next on the schedule for Ave Maria are the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia. Coastal Georgia comes into the game with an 0-2 record in Sun Conference play, losing to the last two unbeatens in the league - Keiser and Southeastern. The Gyrenes and the Mariners will battle Saturday at 4 p.m. as the nightcap of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader.