LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team remained unbeaten Friday afternoon, pulling away for a 96-77 victory over the Stillman College Tigers at the SUN/SSAC Challenge. The win at The Furnace on the campus of Southeastern University moved the Gyrenes to 4-0 on the season, as well as 4-0 over two seasons in the Sun/Southern States Challenge. Ave Maria's win officially clinched the challenge for The Sun Conference, who went 8-0 on the opening day of the event.
Stillman started fast Friday afternoon, jumping out to a 16-8 lead and forcing an Ave Maria timeout. That timeout seemed to settle the Gyrenes, who responded with a 13-2 run over the next three and a half minutes to take a 21-18 lead. Stillman responded with a 10-2 run to take a five-point lead, but the final run of the half would be the most significant. After trailing 28-23, Ave Maria ended the half on a 21-4 run, taking a 44-32 lead into the break. Nick Filchner scored ten of those 21 points, finishing the first half with 19 points and nine rebounds.
The last eight minutes of the first half seemed to unlock the Gyrenes' offense, as Ave Maria scored basically at will in the second half. Ave Maria put up 52 points in the final 20 minutes, making 22 of their 30 field goal attempts. That including a 66.7 percent mark from beyond the arc, with six makes on nine attempts. Stillman got as close as five points during the second half, trailing 53-48 with 14:22 to go, but the Gyrenes answered with a 12-3 run to push the lead back to 14.
Over the first four games of the season, the Gyrenes have averaged more than 96 points per game, and currently lead in the nation in made three-pointers with 45. Ave Maria made another 12 three-pointers on Friday, led by four from sophomore guard Jonathan Effertz. Despite AMU's affinity for the three, the Gyrenes' margin of victory over Stillman was almost entirely supplied by points in the paint, where the Gyrenes outscored the Tigers by a margin of 48-30.
Three Gyrenes accounted for 71 of the team's 96 points, with Nick Filchner scoring 28, Michael Klekas scoring 22, and Effertz adding 21. Filchner and Klekas both posted double-doubles, as Filchner grabbed eleven rebounds and Klekas came down with ten. Effertz was in triple double range with seven assists and seven rebounds, while Jack Watkins did a little of everything for Ave Maria, scoring ten points with six assists and five rebounds.
Ave Maria is now 4-0 for the second time in three seasons, but a win in the team's next game would give the program its first 5-0 start since the 2019-20 season. The task won't be easy, as the Gyrenes will battle their first nationally-recognized opponent of the season, the Florida College Falcons. Florida College, who qualified for the national tournament a season ago, is currently receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Poll. Tipoff from Temple Terrace is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
