AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team came to life in the second half on Thursday night, and earned a crucial Sun Conference victory over the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia, 84-74 at Donahue Gym. The Gyrenes erased a ten-point second half deficit by pouring in 49 points in the final 20 minutes, and remained alone in third place in The Sun Conference as the league enters its home stretch of the 2021-22 regular season.

Coastal Georgia had their way offensively in the first half, shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from long distance. The Mariners used two main runs to take control in the opening 20 minutes. First, Coastal followed a thunderous dunk from Daryl Lewis with a 10-0 run, turning AMU's 13-9 lead into a 19-13 edge for the Mariners. Then, after the Gyrenes had cut the CCGA lead to one at 33-32, Coastal Georgia finished the half on a 10-3 run to stretch their lead to eight, 43-35.

Ave Maria chipped their way back into the game, and finally took the lead for good with 12:40 to play on a Mason Osborne layup. When Osborne gave the Gyrenes the lead, it came in the midst of a 17-4 run that turned Coastal Georgia's four-point lead into a 70-61 lead for Ave Maria. The Mariners got the AMU lead down to two, 72-70, with 4:35 to play, but the Gyrenes scored the next six points to re-extend the lead to eight with 2:48 on the clock.

The Gyrenes' second half rally was powered by an unconscious half shooting the basketball. Ave Maria made 17 of their 25 shots from the field, and knocked down seven of their nine three-point attempts, good for totals of 68 and 77.8 percent, respectively. The rally was keyed by Eric Klekas and Lucas Uzdavinis, who both made three three-pointers in the final 20 minutes.

In total, the Gyrenes were north of 50 percent for the game, both from the field and from long distance. Ave Maria shot 54.5 percent (12 of 22) from three-point territory, and made 31 of their 54 shots overall (57.4 percent). This allowed the Gyrenes to overcome a 37-29 rebounding advantage for the Mariners, who shot 47.8 percent from the field and 32 percent from long distance.

The second half surges of Eric Klekas and Lucas Uzdavinis spurred the Gyrenes to the win, as the pair combined for nine three-pointers and 47 points - 25 for Klekas and 22 for Uzdavinis. Daryl Lewis was also in double figures with an efficient 12 points on five of six shooting, while Chayse Culpepper added eleven points of his own. 

Another key Sun Conference game awaits the Gyrenes on Saturday. The Thomas University Night Hawks, fresh off an upset of nationally-ranked Southeastern University in Lakeland Thursday night, will take on the Gyrenes on Donahue Gym. The game is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff as the nightcap of a women's and men's doubleheader in Ave Maria.