LIVONIA, Mich. - The Ave Maria University men's basketball team improved to 2-0 after beating the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils 79-65 at a neutral site in Livonia, Michigan. The win was spearheaded by senior Matt Gillis and freshman Jonathan Effertz who both scored 20 or more points.

The Gyrenes started out hot going on a 10-0 run in the first two and a half minutes of the game which included back-to-back threes from Effertz. After Lawrence Tech made a few shots of their own, Ave Maria kept the pressure up and led the Blue Devils 22-7 eight minutes into the game. The 15-point lead was the Gyrenes' largest lead in the first half but slowly started to slip away. LTU pulled within four of the Gyrenes before AMU hit a few crucial baskets and went into halftime up 36-27.

The second half was more even between the two squads, but thanks to the lead they had built up in the first half, the Gyrenes were always able to keep the Blue Devils at least an arm's length away and stay two possessions ahead of them the entire time. In the final minutes of the game, Ave shut the door on any Lawrence Tech hopes for a comeback and secured the victory. With about six minutes remaining, AMU went on a three-minute long 9-0 run that gave the Gyrenes their biggest lead of the night, 19 points. The Blue Devils made a couple of layups and free throws at the end of the game, but the Gyrenes walked off the court with a 79-65 win.

Ave Maria never trailed in the game and always led by four or more after they made their second basket of the game. Gillis led the team in scoring with 23 points, 19 of which he scored in the second half. Effertz followed Gillis, posting 20 points of his own. The two of them combined for six of Ave Maria's seven three-pointers. The Gyrenes had one more player score in double digits with Michael Klekas putting up 12 points off the bench.

With the win, the Gyrenes are 2-0. Their next game is Saturday, November 5, against the Madonna Crusaders, whose home court hosted the Friday game between the Gyrenes and the Blue Devils.