FORT MYERS, Fla. — Just one day after notching a top 25 win over Florida College, the Ave Maria men's basketball team made the hour trip east to Fort Myers to take on NCAA Division I opponent Florida Gulf Coast in an exhibition that does not count towards their record. Despite the tough task of the opponent, the Gyrenes hung in with the Eagles, led for a good portion of the game, and fell by just nine points, 80-71.
Jack Watkins hit the first shot of the game, connecting from behind the arc to put the Gyrenes up 3-0. Ave Maria then led for the first 11 minutes of the game, even getting out to a six-point lead.
FGCU stormed back however, taking the lead with a little over eight minutes left to play and held on to the lead until halftime.
The Eagles tried to get some separation from Ave Maria, even getting out to a seven-point lead twice, but the Gyrenes would not go away and stayed in the game. Following a missed three from FGCU and the shot clocked turned off, AMU wound the time down to under 10 seconds when Nick Filchner hit a trifecta from the corner to bring Ave Maria within two points.
Continuing the trend for the season, the Gyrenes hit nine threes in the first half with Filchner leading the way with three. FGCU only had five treys.
Ave Maria stormed out of the gates in the second half, going on a 10-2 run before the first media timeout to put themselves up 51-45.
The Gyrenes continued to put pressure on FGCU and six minutes into the half got their biggest lead of the game with Jonathan Effertz hitting a fast break three off a steal from Jaylen White.
Unfortunately, that's when FGCU made their comeback, going on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 58. The Eagles took the lead a few possessions later and never gave it back.
The Gyrenes kept it close, even tying the game at 71 with under four minutes to play, but a string of tough bounces and missed shots kept AMU off the board for the final three and half minutes, and FGCU walked off the court, breathing a sigh of relief, with only an 80-71 victory in their home opener.
Filchner led the team in scoring with 18 points while Effertz, Michael Klekas, and Jack Watkins also scored in double figures with 16, 14, and 10 respectively. Filchner and Effertz both led the team in threes with four each.
Since this was an exhibition for the Gyrenes, the loss does not count towards their record, and they remain undefeated at 5-0. The Gyrenes have one more exhibition on the schedule when they travel to Boca Raton to take on NCAA Division II Lynn University. The next game on the schedule that counts for the Gyrenes is Tuesday, November 14, in their home opener against the Johnson Suns. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live for free on the Sun Digital Network.
A note for Gyrene basketball fans: season tickets for AMU games are available! Click here for more information!
