AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team rallied from another double-digit deficit on Thursday night, and officially clinched a winning record for the fourth consecutive season with a 68-63 victory over the Florida National University Conquistadors at Donahue Gym. The Gyrene defense clamped down in the second half, holding FNU to 35.7 percent from the field after the visitors posted a 53.3 percent mark in the opening 20 minutes.

Florida National was the better team for the first 15 minutes of play Thursday, leading for nearly the entire first half and building eleven-point leads of 29-18 and 31-20. Ave Maria turned it on in the final five minutes, going on a 16-3 run to take their first lead of the game following a Daryl Lewis layup with under two minutes to play. Florida National got the lead back on a three-pointer from Yamil Diaz with 32 seconds left, and the Conquistadors held a 37-36 halftime lead.

The Gyrenes came out of halftime hot, scoring on five of their first seven possessions, sparking a 10-2 run in a span of four minutes. That run gave Ave Maria a 46-39 lead, but Florida National would quickly go on an 8-0 run to retake the lead at 47-46 with 12:53 remaining. 

After Florida National reclaimed the lead, the Gyrenes went on another run that would prove to be decisive. Over the next six and a half minutes, Ave Maria would outscore the Conquistadors by a 16-5 margin, stretching the lead to ten points with 6:22 left. Over the final six minutes, Florida National would never get closer than five points, and were unable to score on their final two possessions down five, which could have cut Ave Maria's lead down to one possession.

Ave Maria's defense was key in the victory, as the Gyrenes turned Florida National over 15 times, which turned into 20 AMU points. Daryl Lewis led that defensive effort with four steals. In the second half, the Gyrenes held FNU to just 26 points, and cut the Conquistador shooting percentage by nearly 20 points from the visitors' first half pace.

Three Gyrene starters were in double figures, as Daryl Lewis and Chayse Culpepper both scored 17 points. Matt Gillis joined the pair with 17 points of his own off the bench, and posted a double-double with ten rebounds. Eric Klekas added ten points on seven shots, while making two of his three three-point attempts.

Following Warner's win over Southeastern Thursday night, the Gyrenes now sit in a three-way tie for second place in The Sun Conference, just one game behind the first place Fire. AMU will face four teams with conference tournament hopes in the final two weeks of the season, beginning with the Florida Memorial University Lions on Thursday in Miami Gardens. Tipoff of that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.