DENMARK, S.C. — The Ave Maria Gyrenes opened the 2023-24 campaign with a pair of wins up in the Palmetto State. The road trip began with a win over the Morris College Hornets 104-77 Friday, October 27, and ended with the Gyrenes beating the Voorhees Tigers 91-68 on Saturday, October 28. Saturday's win was head coach Jamon Copeland's 200th win as a college basketball head coach.
In their first win of the season, the Gyrenes dominated the Hornets, putting up 50 points in each half. The 104 first time since the 2022 Sun Conference Championship game that the Gyrenes hit triple digits on the scoreboard, and the first time since 2020 they hit triple digits in regulation.
The team shot 47% from the field and 33% from three-point range. In total, AMU hit 12 threes with sophomore Jonathan Effertz and junior transfer Jack Poirier each leading the team with three buckets behind the arc.
Six players scored in double digits with junior Miles Monchecourt leading the way with 15. Monchecourt also recorded the first double-double of the season for the Gyrenes, pulling down 10 rebounds.
The big difference for the Gyrenes came on the boards, with Ave Maria out rebounding the Hornets 65-36. AMU pulled down 44 defensive rebounds while holding Morris to just nine offensive boards.
The next day, Ave Maria made the 90 minute-drive south from Sumter, South Carolina to Denmark, South Carolina to take on the Voorhees Tigers. Again, the Gyrenes dominated, hitting the 50-point mark for a third half in a row in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
Ave Maria was even better from the field in their second game, shooting 36-70 for 51%. Three players hit double digits in Saturday's game with Michael Klekas leading the way with 20 points. Effertz and junior transfer JR Cison each had 12.
Like the Friday game, the Gyrenes won the boards pulling down 54 rebounds to Voorhees' 31. Ave Maria grabbed 40 defensive rebounds while holding the Tigers to just five offensively.
Following the two games, Copeland said it is the versatility and depth of this year's team that makes him excited for the upcoming season.
"We have a lot of playmakers, guys that can dribble, pass, and shoot," said Copeland. "It is the most depth that we have had in my tenure here at Ave Maria."
The victory on Saturday was Copeland's 200th win as a college head coach. Copeland and Ave Maria University began their basketball careers at the same time, with AMU hiring him as its first ever head coach and Copeland accepting his first ever head coaching job. In his first four years, he increased the number of wins the program got every year and was ranked in the NAIA top 25 multiple times. After four years, he had racked up 71 wins.
In 2013, Copeland went out west to be the head coach at the University of Texas at Tyler, where he had many successful seasons with the Patriots, including getting the program's very first postseason win. After six seasons, Copeland had 143 wins under his belt.
Friday and Saturday were the start of Copeland's fourth season in his second stint at Ave Maria. He ended last season with 198 career wins and finally got to 200 on the South Carolina trip.
"I am so blessed to be able to do something that I love for a living and have been able to do it for a long time," said Copeland when reflecting on his 200th win. "I pray that I can do this and have a positive impact on young men's lives for a long time."
Ave Maria stays on the road for their next four games, starting with two games in Lakeland, Florida, for the second annual Sun/Southern States Challenge. Every team from the Sun Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference will play two teams from the other conference in multiple locations across the south. The conference with the most wins will be declared the winner of the challenge. Last season, despite Ave Maria doing their part and winning their two games, the SSAC won 9-6.
This year, the Gyrenes will take on the Middle Georgia State Knights Thursday, November 2, and the Stillman Tigers Friday, November 3. Ave Maria has never played the Knights before, but they did beat the Stillman Tigers 78-59 as a part of the SUN/SSAC Challenge last year.
