MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team could not hold off the St. Thomas University Bobcats on Thursday night, succumbing to a second half rally in a 82-72 defeat in Miami Gardens. The Gyrenes led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but were outscored 37-15 in the final 13 minutes and change, eventually taking on their second loss of the season in Sun Conference play.
Despite a slow start, the Gyrenes built a 13-point lead in the first half. A key run for Ave Maria came midway through the frame, when AMU scored eleven unanswered points to take a 25-18 lead. The Gyrenes' largest lead of the half came following an Eric Klekas jumper with 1:42 to go, which gave Ave Maria a 41-28. St. Thomas scored six straight to cut the AMU lead to seven, but a Chayse Culpepper layup supplied the Gyrenes with a 43-34 halftime lead.
Ave Maria led by as many as 12 points in the second half, leading 57-45 with 13:28 on the clock. From there, St. Thomas went on a 17-4 run, taking their first lead of the second half at 62-61 with 7:39 to play. The lead changed hands three more times before another STU run put the game away. Trailing 66-65 with 5:53 left, the Bobcats went on a 10-2 run, taking a seven-point lead with two minutes left. That lead would not go below five as the Bobcats salted the game away.
St. Thomas' main advantage on Thursday night came on the glass, as the Bobcats outrebounded the Gyrenes by a 60-40 margin, which included a 21-11 mark on the offensive glass. Those 21 offensive rebounds turned into 23 points for STU, and helped the Bobcats overcome a 4-for-19 effort from three-point territory. The Gyrenes were also hurt by cold shooting in the second half, which saw AMU make just 12 of their 35 field goal attempts, including two of 12 threes.
Daryl Lewis was the main reason Ave Maria was in the game until the closing minutes, scoring a game-high 25 points and pulling down ten rebounds. Eric Klekas added an efficient 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while Chayse Culpepper scored 12 points to round out an AMU trio in double figures. Joining Lewis as one of AMU's leading rebounders was Joseph Hahnenberg, who grabbed nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
For the first time in nearly three weeks, the Gyrenes will return to Donahue Gym on Saturday afternoon. Ave Maria will take on the Lions of Florida Memorial University in AMU's first Sun Conference home game since November 11, when AMU defeated Webber at Donahue Gym. Tipoff between the Gyrenes and the Lions is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Ave Maria.
