AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria University men's basketball team won their first game of 2023, outlasting the St. Thomas Bobcats 82-77. The Gyrenes found themselves down a couple times in this contest but were always able to rally to earn the conference win.
The Bobcats came out of the gate hot, jumping out to a 10-2 just two minutes into the game and forcing head coach Jamon Copeland to call an early timeout. After a few quick adjustments, Ave Maria went on an 11-4 run themselves and got back within one of St. Thomas. The Gyrenes later gained their first lead of the night about six minutes in off a Matt Gillis jumper.
The two squads traded the lead several times, but the Gyrenes got out to a comfortable five-point advantage around midway through the first half. AMU would keep this lead for the rest of the half. St. Thomas was able to catch Ave Maria at 31 under the four-minute mark, but a 10-2 run in the final minutes of the half put Ave Maria on top once again. The Bobcats did hit three free throws at the end of the half to stay within striking distance, but the Gyrenes went into the locker room up 41-36 at the break.
The second half started much like the first, with the Bobcats going on a 9-0 run in the first three minutes to take a 45-41 lead. Again, the Gyrenes fought back and tied the game up two minutes later with a Chayse Culpepper layup, and then took the lead with a Jonathan Effertz layup. That was the last time Ave Maria trailed in the game, and the Gyrenes did not look back.
Just a few minutes later, Ave Maria went on a 9-0 run, capped by a Culpepper layup that brought the crowd at Donahue Gym to their feet. The Culpepper layup put the Gyrenes up 62-50, their largest lead of the night.
Despite being down 12 halfway through the second half, the Bobcats made the Gyrenes sweat a few times in the final minutes of the game. St. Thomas clawed their way back, and with five minutes to go, made it a one possession game after a layup brought them within three of the Gyrenes. However, a big three from Effertz followed by a layup from Vince Ventulan put Ave Maria back up by eight.
The Bobcats had one more push, and this time got within two after two free throws, but Ave Maria hit their free throws at the end of the game after St. Thomas started fouling to put the game out of reach. When the final horn sounded, AMU walked away victorious 82-77.
Chayse Culpepper led the team in scoring in his first game back with 19 points. He also had six assists and five rebounds to go with them. The Gyrenes had three more players score in double digits with Effertz scoring 16, Ventulan scoring 13, and Klajd Kiri scoring 10.
With the win, the Gyrenes improved to 10-4 and 3-1 in conference play. They rose one spot in the SUN standings over the Bobcats and now sit in fourth place. Their next game is Saturday, January 7, when they will travel to play the other team from Miami Gardens, the Florida Memorial Lions, who are 1-5 in conference play this year after losing to Southeastern Fire, also on Thursday.
