WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After erasing a 10-point deficit in the second half, the Gyrenes ran out of steam and fell to the Concordia Stingers out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada 79-76. The Gyrenes finish the 2023 calendar year and their out of conference schedule 11-3.
The buckets weren't falling for Ave Maria in the first half, especially outside the perimeter. The Gyrenes made their layups to stay competitive in the game, but went just 3-for-10 from beyond the arc. While not the lowest number of threes they made in a half, it was enough to take them out of the game for a minute and give Concordia, who hit five threes in the frame, a 10-point lead heading into the break.
Coming out of the half, the Stingers added five more points to get out to their largest lead of the night, 15 points. Luckily, that's when the comeback began.
The Gyrenes went on a 22-10 run to tie the game at 57. The tying blow was a Nick Filchner and one free throw after making a layup while being fouled.
The two teams exchanged the lead a couple of times, with the Gyrenes taking the lead for a little bit with under four minutes to play.
The magic however ran out for Ave Maria as Concordia hit two big threes in the final minutes of the game while they went 0-for-2 from downtown.
The Gyrenes hit one final layup before the buzzer sounded, but Concordia walked off the court with the upset win 79-76.
Michael Klekas led the team with 21 points while Filchner was the only other Gyrene to hit double figures with 15.
Following the loss, the Gyrenes fall to 11-3 on the year. This completes their out of conference portion of their schedule. At a .750 winning percentage, it's their second best out of conference record in program history, just behind the perfect run in 2012-13, in which the Gyrenes made their first ever national tournament appearance.
The Gyrenes now get a week off before making their Tom Golisano Field House debut with their Sun Conference opener against the Southeastern Fire. The Gyrenes went 1-1 against SEU last season. Tip-off is set for 4 o'clock and will be broadcast on the Sun Digital Network.
