BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Ave Maria closed out one of their best regular seasons in program history Saturday with a 104-99 win over the Coastal Georgia Mariners. The Gyrenes hit 10 threes in the game to bring their season total to 347, the most in school history.
The opening 13 minutes of the game was a very tight affair between the Gyrenes and the Mariners. There were seven lead changes and six ties as the two teams traded blows back and forth.
Following a CCG jumper that tied the game at 34, Nick Filchner hit a three to put Ave Maria back on top. From that point on, the Gyrenes never looked back and led Coastal Georgia for the rest of the game.
Including the Filchner three that put the Gyrenes ahead, AMU closed out the half with an 18-8 run to take a 52-42 lead into the break. Filchner led the way with 12 points in the final seven minutes, hitting two threes, two layups and a jumper.
The Gyrenes continued to build on their lead in the opening 10 minutes of the first half. Right before the midway point of the frame, Michael Klekas dropped in a layup to put the Gyrenes up by 17, their largest lead of the afternoon.
Coastal Georgia attempted a comeback in the final 10 minutes of the game, even getting within one possession of Ave Maria. However, the Gyrenes held their ground defensively and made their shots at the free throw line.
Coastal Georgia only committed six fouls in the opening frame and none of them were shooting fouls, so Ave Maria did not get a single trip to the charity stripe in the first half. The second half on the other hand is a different story, with the Gyrenes getting 20 looks from the free throw, and 16 of them being in the final 10 minutes of the game. AMU made 11 of those 16 and 14 in total to keep the game just out of reach of the Mariners.
Klekas scored the final point of the game with a free throw and the Gyrenes won 104-99. It is the 10th time this season the Gyrenes have scored triple digits.
Ave Maria finished the game 10 threes from six different shooters. 10 threes puts the team's season total at 347, which is three more than the previous school record, set in 2018-19. This year's squad also did it four fewer games, with 18-19 Gyrenes having set the record after going 3-0 to win the conference tournament and playing a game in the opening round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament.
Klekas led the team in points with 22, his 11th game this season with 20 or more points. Joining him in the double figures club is Miles Monchecourt with 18, Filchner with 15, Jack Watkins with 14 and Jonathan Effertz with 12.
With the win, Ave Maria finishes the regular season 20-8. That ties the 2018-19 season for the second-best regular season record in school history. The Gyrenes also finished the conference schedule 9-5. Ave Maria ends the season tied for second place in the conference with Florida Memorial with the Lions beating the Keiser Seahawks on Saturday as well. While they are tied for second, the Gyrenes will be the #3 seed in the conference tournament due to FMU owning the tiebreaker having won both regular season contests.
The good news about the Gyrenes being the three seed in the conference tournament is that is what they were when they won their first conference championship in the 2018-19 season. It also means the Gyrenes will host a quarterfinal game, Tuesday, February 27, against the Southeastern Fire. It is the first time since 2022 Ave Maria will host a conference tournament game and the first time since 2020 it will be at the Tom Golisano Field House. Ave Maria won both of those games, beating Keiser in '22 and Warner in '20.
The Gyrenes went 1-1 against Southeastern this season, with the home team winning both games. In Ave Maria's win, Klekas led the team with a season-high 31 points as the Gyrenes won 101-93. The game can be streamed on the Sun Digital Network with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
