AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Basketball team fought through a cold streak Saturday afternoon to get a tough conference win against the St. Thomas Bobcats. The Gyrenes found themselves down multiple possessions late in the game but came back to win 81-76.
The Gyrenes started off hot, rushing out to a 14-3 lead just three minutes into the game. Ave Maria hit their first four threes of the game, two from Jonathan Effertz and one from Jack Watkins and Michael Klekas.
St. Thomas fought their way back to within a few possessions, but the Gyrenes led for the entire opening half. AMU had another big 9-0 run midway through the first, to get back up by 11 points.
With a little over four minutes left in the opening frame, Noryen Lasley hit a jumper to give Ave Maria their biggest advantage of the night, leading the Bobcats by 14 points.
The final four minutes were the start of a cold stretch for the Gyrenes however as St. Thomas outscored them 14-3 to get back with one point at the break. AMU was still on top, but they had lost their comfortable double digit lead.
The start of the second half was back-and-forth between the two teams, but still with Ave Maria in front. However, just before the halfway point of the frame, St. Thomas tied the game for the first time since the opening tip and knotted the score up at 60. Ave Maria took one more lead after that, but then back-to-back baskets put St. Thomas on top for the first time in the game.
St. Thomas led for just under five minutes and even had a seven-point lead at point.
The lead did not last though. Spurred on by the Ave Maria faithful in another packed Tom Golisano Field House, the Gyrenes constructed a 10-3 run to tie the game back up at 72. Miles Monchecourt hit a three to knot up the score with three and half minutes left to play.
Ave Maria took the lead for good a couple of possessions later with another three from Effertz.
The Gyrenes went 3-for-3 from the free throw line and played strong defense to close out the game and secure the 81-76 win.
"I thought today what we did really well, when we got down, like they had us kind of on the ropes at the end of the game…and just, [we] responded. They made enough plays down the stretch to get it done," said head coach Jamon Copeland after the game. "The fans were incredible [too]. Their energy, when we're kind of on death's door, was just what lifted the energy of us. We were able to get stops and kind of get out and get on a run. So, credit them."
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 6-1 in conference play and 15-4 overall. Ave Maria is also 8-1 at home in front of the Dog Pound.
Effertz led the team in scoring with 18 points, hitting four shots from downtown. Four other Gyrenes hit double digits with Watkins at 16, Klekas at 12, Lasley at 11 and Monchecourt at 10. Lasley recorded his second double-double of the season, pulling down 10 rebounds as well.
The Gyrenes are on the road for their next game, traveling up to Lakeland to take on the Southeastern Fire. The Fire dropped a non-conference game Saturday and are 8-11 overall. Tipoff is set for 7:30 and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
