AVE MARIA, Fla. — In almost an exact carbon copy of their win Saturday night over the Coastal Georgia Mariners, the Ave Maria Gyrenes' men's basketball team fell behind early, surged late in the first half to take a lead at the break, got up to big lead in the second half, watched the big lead fade to a small lead, and finally hang on to win by three Monday night against the Kansas Christian Falcons.
The Falcons came out firing in the first half and were rewarded for it with a seven-point lead just past the three-minute mark. Ave Maria battled back however and aided by three threes from Lucas Uzdavinis tied the game at 23 halfway through the opening period. The two teams then traded buckets back and forth and had 10 lead changes in nine minutes.
Houston Culpepper hit a free throw with about a minute remaining to tie the game and then 30 seconds later, Uzdavinis hit his fourth three of the half, giving AMU a 47-44 lead that they would take into halftime.
The second half began with Kansas Christian tying the game at 49, but the Ave Maria went on a 12-2 run, capped by another Uzdavinis three, to race out to a 10-point lead. It was Uzdavinis' fifth and final three of the night. It was the second game in a row Uzdavinis had hit five threes in one night, which is the season high for any Gyrene.
Unfortunately for Ave Maria, in the final 10 minutes of the second half, the Falcons clawed their way back and the Gyrenes watched their big lead evaporate. Ave Maria was leading by 13 at one point, but Kansas Christian stayed with them and worked it to only a six with a minute to go. The Falcons started fouling, and after Vince Ventulan made one free throw, KCC got the rebound a hit a three with five seconds remaining to make it a three-point game.
KCC fouled once again and were lucky enough for the Gyrenes to miss the first free throw of a 1-and-1 and get the rebound. With three seconds left, the Falcons launched one more desperation three to tie the game, but it was a little too strong, and Ave Maria escaped with an 83-80 victory.
Miles Monchecourt led the Gyrenes in scoring, coming off the bench with 18 points. Monchecourt hit a couple of crucial layups in the final minutes of the game to slow down the Falcons comeback and keep them at least two possessions away until the end of the game. Uzdavinis and Matt Gillis were tied for second most points with 17. Culpepper and Ventulan also scored in double digits for the Gyrenes with 12 and 11 respectively.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 5-2 on the season. They end a three game homestand 2-1 and will now embark on a big stretch of neutral and road games. That starts Saturday, November 26, when the Gyrenes will #6 Marion Knights in "The Show" in Kingsport, Tennessee. AMU follows that up with a game against the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears, who also received votes in the NAIA first top 25 poll. The Gyrenes won't play in Ave Maria again until the new year, when they host the St. Thomas Bobcats January 5, 2023.
