MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team had their best offensive performance of the season on Saturday, rolling to a 102-84 victory over the Lions of Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens. It marked Ave Maria's first 100 point performance of the season, and second straight against the Lions. It was also Ave Maria's seventh straight win over Florida Memorial at the FMU Wellness Center, a streak that dates back to the 2017-18 season.
The first half was relatively balanced, as neither team led by more than five points for the first 15 minutes of the contest. The Gyrenes led by as many as seven points with three and a half minutes to play in the half, but Florida Memorial was able to cut that lead to one with an 8-2 run in the span of a minute. The momentum went into the half with the Gyrenes, however, as AMU scored the final five points of the frame, including a layup by Michael Klekas on the final possession of the half.
Ave Maria was unstoppable on the offensive end in the second half, making 21 of their 31 field goal attempts, good for 58 points and an 67.7 shooting percentage. Despite the offensive efficiency, the Gyrenes led by just three, 79-76, with 7:15 to play. AMU then scored 23 points in the final seven minutes, outscoring FMU 23-8 over that period. That stretch included two different 9-0 runs that sealed the win for the visitors.
Several pieces of Gyrene history were made in the victory. Chayse Culpepper scored a career high 31 points playing less than 20 miles from his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, and became the second player in school history, joining Romello Bates, to record ten or more assists on multiple occasions during their career. Culpepper also became the first player in AMU history to score 30 points and have ten assists in the same game.
Additionally, Lucas Uzdavinis became the iron man of the Ave Maria men's basketball program, playing in his 123rd game as a Gyrene. That broke the record set almost a decade ago by Dylan Fugate, who played 122 games for current head coach Jamon Copeland from 2009 to 2013.
Elsewhere on Saturday, four other Gyrenes were in double figures to push AMU over the 100-point plateau. The leader of this quartet was Michael Klekas, who scored 13 points coming off the bench. Jonathan Effertz and Miles Monchecourt both made all three of their field goal attempts and finished with eleven points, while Vince Ventulan chipped in with ten.
Following the win over Florida Memorial, the Gyrenes now hold a 4-1 record in Sun Conference play, and are one of three teams with just one league loss thus far this season, along with 6-1 Thomas and 4-1 Webber International. Second place in the conference, just a half game behind Thomas, will be the prize for the winner of Tuesday's matchup between AMU and Webber, rescheduled from November due to the threat of Tropical Storm Nicole. Tipoff from Babson Park is set for 7:30 p.m.
