WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team came up one game short of a postseason berth, dropping an 86-81 decision to the Keiser University Seahawks Saturday in West Palm Beach. AMU erased a 13-point deficit in the second half, but ran out of gas in the closing minutes. The win gave Keiser the final berth to next week's Sun Conference Tournament, and ended the Gyrene season with an overall record of 14-14.

Both teams had their moments in the first half, but neither team could take a lead of more than six points. Keiser made the first run, leading 12-6 less than three minutes into the game. Ave Maria responded with a 14-4 run to take a four-point lead of their own, a lead that would eventually grow to six following another run, this one of 7-0. Those runs were enough for the Gyrenes to lead at halftime, although Keiser was able to cut the AMU edge down to one point, 38-37, before the buzzer sounded.

Keiser outscored Ave Maria 25-11 in the first eight minutes of the second half, building a 13-point lead with 12 minutes to play. The Gyrenes fought back, eventually tying the game at 71 on a Michael Klekas jumper with 4:33 to play. The Seahawks, however, hit a three-pointer on their next possession to take the lead for good. Keiser would outscore Ave Maria 9-2 over the next three and a half minutes, which would prove to be enough for the Seahawks to emerge with the win.

The Gyrenes tied a season-high with 13 made three-pointers in the losing effort, and shot better than 45 percent from long distance for just the third time this year. Keiser was able to offset that AMU advantage in the paint, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds and outscoring the Gyrenes 30-24 in the paint. The Seahawks also mostly kept pace from long range, making nine three-pointers of their own. 

Chayse Culpepper scored 24 points in his final game of the season, allowing the sophomore to finish the season with 18.2 points per game, a total that would have ranked in the top five in school history had he played the entire season. In his second game back from injury, Jonathan Effertz scored 17 points, while Lucas Uzdavinis scored 12 points in his final game as a Gyrene, making four three-pointers to set his final career record in the category to 269.

Despite the loss, the Gyrenes finished the season with a record of .500 or better for the fifth season in a row, with the last three coming under head coach Jamon Copeland. Ave Maria heads into the offseason with promise, as five of the team's top seven players in terms of minutes played are eligible to return to the roster next season, including the team's top two scorers in Chayse Culpepper and Michael Klekas.