AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Basketball team had trouble getting baskets to fall in their top 20 clash with the Huntington Foresters Monday night. On the flip side, the 17^th ranked Foresters had one of their best days from three point land this season as the Gyrenes fell 97-69.

The first half started slow, and Huntington took an early lead. The Gyrenes didn't fall behind too early and worked two ties in the first five minutes of the game.

Right before the midway point of the first half, Ave Maria found their rhythm and went on a run, outscoring Huntington 10-0 to take a 23-16 lead. The run started with back-to-back threes from Jonathan Effertz and Jack Watkins.

 After the two teams exchanged layups, Noryen Lasley hit two free throws to put the Gyrenes up by nine. That wound up being their largest lead of the night and was one of their last leads.

Just as quickly as the Gyrenes got in front of the Foresters, Huntington got right back in the game. Huntington went on a 13-0 run in a little over two and half minutes to retake the lead 31-27. Ave Maria went 0-for-3 in the run and had one turnover as well.

Huntington closed out the first half outscoring the Gyrenes 18-9 to take a 13-point lead into the break.

Ave Maria hit just five three-pointers in the first half while Huntington hit seven.

The second half was more of the same as the Foresters kept increasing their lead. The deficit never dipped below 10 in the second half. The shooting struggles continued for the Gyrenes as they went 11-for-34 from the field and 3-for-15 from downtown. On the opposite end of the floor, shot over 50% from the floor.

The loss drops Ave Maria to 10-3 on the season and ends an eight-game win streak, which was tied for longest in the Sun Conference. The Gyrenes are also now 1-1 against ranked teams.

AMU went 22-for-66 from the floor on the whole game, shooting 33.3%. It is the lowest shooting percentage for the Gyrenes since January 26, 2019, when Ave Maria hit just 31.7% of their shots against Keiser.

The Gyrenes finished 8-for-31 from behind the arc. At 25.8%, that is their lowest shooting percentage of the season and their fewest made threes at home this year.

Watkins led the team with 14 points. Michael Klekas and Effertz also hit double figures at 13 and 11, respectively. Nick Filchner led the team with seven rebounds.

The Gyrenes have a quick turnaround as they are back in action Tuesday, December 17, against another Top 20 team. Ave Maria's next opponent is the No. 10 Bethel Pilots who come in with a 10-2 record after falling to fellow Sun Conference opponent Florida Memorial Monday night 101-81. It will be Ave Maria's final game of the 2024 calendar year. Going back to January of last season, the game against the Pilots with be the Gyrenes' seventh game against a ranked team. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.