MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A poor first half from beyond the arc sank the Gyrenes into a hole they couldn't dig out from Wednesday night as they lost to the Florida Memorial Lions 88-77.
Ave Maria got out to a hot start, opening the game with a 12-2 run. The scoring streak started with back-to-back threes from Nick Filchner and Jack Watkins and also featured a put back dunk from Noryen Lasley.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long for the Gyrenes as Florida Memorial fought back and tied the game at 19 midway through the first. About a minute later, FMU took a 22-21 lead and never gave it back, leaving the Gyrenes to play catch up for the rest of the game.
The main reason the Gyrenes fell behind was because after the first two good three-pointers, the Gyrenes went 1-for-16 from downtown. The other good three pointer from Michael Klekas five and a half minutes into the game when Ave Maria was still ahead. The team missed their last 10 shots of the half behind the arc. This, combined with the Lions matching the game average of threes in the first half gave Florida Memorial a 13 point lead heading into halftime.
Out of the break, the Gyrenes found their rhythm from deep range and sank nine threes to bring their game total up to 12. However, FMU was able to match the Gyrenes scoring wise, hitting five more threes to bring their game total up to 11. It was only the fourth time this season Florida Memorial had hit 10 more threes. When the Lions were shooting from downtown, they were still making their shots to keep a three possession lead or more at all times.
Ave Maria got within eight points in the final minute, the closest they had been all half, but just ran out of time. FMU hit three free throws to make the final score 88-77.
Klekas led the team in scoring with 17 points. Jaylen White, Watkins, Lasley, and Miles Monchecourt joined him in the double-figures club with 14, 13, 10 and 10 respectively.
With 12 made threes, the Gyrenes season total is up to 318. They are 21 away from tying the second most threes in a season in program history with three games left to go in the regular season.
Due to the loss, Ave Maria falls to 18-7 overall and 7-4 in conference play. St. Thomas beat Southeastern Wednesday night so the Bobcats now have sole possession of first place with an 8-3 conference record. It is the first time this season a team other than Ave Maria has had sole possession of first place in the Sun Conference. With Florida Memorial's win and Keiser also beating Coastal Georgia, the Gyrenes are in a three way tie for second place with Lions and Seahawks.
Ave Maria has their final home game of the season Saturday, February 17, against the St. Thomas Bobcats. The Gyrenes won a tight game against STU earlier this season with White hitting a buzzer beater jumper to win the game 84-82. A win would put Ave Maria back into a tie for first place with the Bobcats, and the Gyrenes would have the tiebreaker having won both regular season games. The game can be streamed on the Sun Digital Network with tip-off set for 4 p.m.
