AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Basketball got off to a rough start but still scored over ninety points in seventh straight win to start the season. The Gyrenes matched their season high of 55 points in the second half to take down the Webber Warriors 93-82.
It was a very slow start for the Gyrenes, missing their first four shot attempts and going scoreless through the first three minutes. Meanwhile on the other side of the court, Webber scored 11 points to take their largest lead over Ave Maria in a game since the 2023-24 season. The drought finally came to an end with a three-pointer from Jaylen White.
Webber remained in the lead until about six minutes remaining in the first half when Michael Klekas hit his second field goal of the night to tie the game at 25. About a minute later, an Alex Sherwood free throw gave Ave Maria their first lead of the night.
The two teams tossed the lead back-and-forth for the final few minutes of the half before the Gyrenes took the lead for good with another jumper from Klekas. Klekas ended the frame with a three pointer right before time expired to give Ave Maria a 38-34 lead heading into the break. The senior led the team in scoring in the first half with 11 points.
Ave Maria shot just 38.9% from the field in the first half, going 14-for-36. However, the Gyrenes turned it on in the second half and shot over 50% in the final 20 minutes.
Webber hung around the Gyrenes for the first few minutes of the half, staying within one to three possessions of the Gyrenes. That all changed after the first media timeout when Ave Maria went off on a 16-2 run to go from leading by six to leading by 20. Five different Gyrenes scored during the run, but Jonathan Effertz and Marlon Bennett led the way with five and four points, respectively.
The lead continued to grow thanks to the help of Effertz and Bennett. With around seven minutes remaining, the two players hit back-to-back three to give the Gyrenes their largest lead of the night at 21. The Warriors made it a little closer in the final but still were three or more possessions away from the Gyrenes at all times.
Bennett's final basket of the game a layup to put the Gyrenes over 90 points for the fourth time this season. Ave Maria finished the game right at what they were averaging coming into the tilt at 93 points.
Bennett led the team in scoring with 27 points. That obliterated his previous season-high of 18 points, which he logged against Florida College on November 11. Two other Gyrenes hit double figures with Klekas at 19 points and Effertz at 16. Klekas also led the team in rebounds with eight.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 7-0 and starts league play with a 1-0 record. The Gyrenes keep their win streak to start the season alive and are just one win away from tying the longest win streak to start a season in program history. Saturday is also the eight straight home opener the Gyrenes have won and the seventh straight conference opener.
Ave Maria is on the road for their next four games before they are back home at the Tom Golisano Field House. The road stand starts Wednesday, November 19, with a trip to Bradenton to take on the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans. It will be NCF's Sun Conference opener as they were the ninth wheel of the four Sun games playing on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
