BABSON PARK, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team nearly rallied from a 15-point second half deficit, but ran out of steam in a 72-62 loss to the Webber International University Warriors in Babson Park Tuesday night. The game, which was rescheduled from November due to the effects of Hurricane Nicole, saw the Gyrenes fall to 4-2 in conference play, suffering their first conference road loss of the season.

Webber controlled much of the first half, allowing the Warriors to build a double digit lead at halftime. After the Gyrenes made two three-pointers to take an early 6-3 lead, Webber responded with a 10-1 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. Ave Maria never got closer than seven points for the remainder of the half, and Webber ended the opening frame with the final six points to enter the halftime break with a 43-30 lead.

Trailing by 15 after Webber's first possession of the second half, the Gyrenes found one last flurry. A Klajd Kiri layup with 13:26 to play capped off a 14-1 run for the Gyrenes, cutting Webber's lead down to 46-44. The Gyrenes would also trail by two at the 11:02 mark, 49-47, but could never completely erase Webber's lead. The Warriors pushed their lead up around ten, and the Gyrenes could not come up with another run.

The Gyrenes did not shoot the ball well on Tuesday, making 21 of their 57 field goal attempts (36.8 percent). This was especially evident from long distance, as only eight of AMU's 31 three-point attempts found their target. A bright spot for the Gyrenes was their play in transition. Ave Maria outscored Webber 23-14 in points off turnovers, and did so by a 14-2 margin in fast break points. 

No individual Gyrene handled the majority of the scoring load Tuesday night, with five players scoring between eight and 13 points. The leading scorer on the night was Michael Klekas, who made four of his six shots and finished with 13 points. Also in double figures was Matt Gillis (12) and Jonathan Effertz (11). Gillis and Klajd Kiri led the Gyrenes with seven rebounds a piece, while Kiri blocked four shots, the second highest single-game total in program history.

Tuesday's game was the start of a three-game stretch of conference games this week for the Gyrenes, who will play again on Thursday before concluding the week on the road on Saturday. Thursday's game will see Ave Maria host the Keiser University Seahawks at Donahue Gym, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 pm. Keiser has dominated the series all-time against the Gyrenes, winning 24 of 29 meetings. However, AMU won all three meetings between the schools last season.