AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team rallied from a 14-point first half deficit on Saturday, and emerged with a 71-68 victory over the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia at Donahue Gym. The Gyrenes led by as many as 12 points in the second half, and held off a late charge from the Mariners to earn their second SUN victory of the season and move to 4-2 on the season.
As was the case against Thomas on Thursday, the Gyrenes found themselves in an early hole thanks to a fast start from the opponent. Coastal Georgia raced out to leads of 24-10 and 26-12, but the Gyrenes were able to claw their way back by the end of the frame. Despite trailing for more than 17 minutes of the first half and leading for less than a minute, the Gyrenes took a 37-35 lead into the halftime break after freshman guard Jonathan Effertz knocked down a jumper on the final possession of the half.
AMU's surge in the final ten minutes of the first half was powered by their efficiency on the offensive end of the floor. The Gyrenes shot 51.7 percent from the field, while the Mariners weren't too far behind at 46.7 percent. The shooting of Lucas Uzdavinis was critical for the Gyrenes in the opening 20 minutes, with the senior scoring 12 points, nine of which came on a trio of three-pointers.
The second half proved to be a near mirror image of the first, with the Gyrenes starting fast and Coastal Georgia closing the gap. Ave Maria started the second half on a 12-2 run in the first six minutes, taking a 49-37 lead. The Gyrenes seemed to have the game in hand, leading by seven with less than a minute to play, but Coastal Georgia hit two three-pointers in a row to cut the AMU lead to one with 33 seconds left.
Lucas Uzdavinis scored on the other end of the floor, increasing the Gyrene lead to three points with 23 seconds left. Coastal Georgia had one final possession with the hope of sending the game to overtime, but missed two shots and didn't put up the third until after the final buzzer had sounded.
Uzdavinis added ten more points in the second half, leading the way for the Gyrenes with 22 points and five three-pointers. Matt Gillis made seven of his ten field goal attempts to add 15 points, while Jonathan Effertz chipped in with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists.
After playing a trio of Sun Conference games to start league play, the Gyrenes will now take on a series of non-conference opponents before returning to SUN play January 5. The run of seven straight non-conference starts Monday, when the Gyrenes take on Kansas Christian College at Donahue Gym at 8:00 p.m..
After playing Kansas Christian, the Gyrenes will head to "The Show" in Kingsport, Tennessee for the second year in a row. AMU will face two nationally recognized opponents in No. 6 Marian and (RV) West Virginia Tech in the Volunteer State next Saturday and Sunday.
