WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — What started out as just an annual conference game between the Ave Maria Gyrenes and the Keiser Seahawks became one of the most highly anticipated games of the NAIA regular season. The morning of the game, the NAIA released its fourth poll of the season, featuring Ave Maria ranked fifth in the country and Keiser ranked sixth. This ranking created the first ever Top 10 regular season matchup in Sun Conference history.
The game lived up to the hype as the Gyrenes walked away with an 86-72 win over the Seahawks.
Ave Maria got off to a fast start but cooled down in the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Gyrenes raced out to a 17-12 lead, getting most of their points from Jonathan Effertz who knocked down three trifectas in the opening eight minutes of the game.
Keiser went on a 9-0 run to take the lead and led for the rest of the frame. Ave Maria worked the deficit to two possessions before the end of the half, but a buzzer beater three from Keiser gave the Seahawks a seven-point lead at the break. The Gyrenes scored just 35 points, which is the fewest number of first half points this season.
In the second half, the Seahawks scored the first basket of the game to take their largest lead of the game at nine. That seemed to flip a switch among the Gyrenes as they started to claw their way back. It took a good chunk of time, but right before the second media timeout of the half, Marlon Bennett knocked down a three to tie the game at 60. Keiser took one last lead at 62-60 before the Gyrenes took over the game.
Effertz hit two free throws to once again tie the game at 62. Those free throws started an 11-0 run for the Gyrenes as they quickly took a four-possession lead. The run featured three two-pointers from the Gyrenes, but the hammer was a three-pointer from Alex Sherwood to make the margin double digits. It was Sherwood's second three of the game, making it his first multi-three game of the season.
Now leading by 11 with under six minutes left to play, Ave Maria focused on defense and snuffed out any hopes of a Seahawk comeback. The Gyrenes knocked down three trifectas in in the final minutes of the game to keep the pressure on Keiser.
When the final horn sounded, Ave Maria walked off the court with the first ever Top-10 matchup win in Sun Conference history.
"Keiser is elite defensively and has great positional length. The only way to counter that is to move them defensively with our ball movement and player movement," said head coach Jamon Copeland following the win. "We did both really well in the second half tonight which enabled us to pull away."
Effertz led the team with a career-high 31 points, passing his previous career high by six points. Effertz knocked down seven shots from downtown, the most he has had since 2023 when he hit eight against Florida College.
Three other Gyrenes hit double figures with Bennett scoring 17, Sherwood logging 14 and Jack Watkins bringing home 10.
As a team, Ave Maria knocked down 16 three-pointers while Keiser only hit two. Sixteen is tied for the most this season, and a 14 is greatest margin this year.
With the win, the Gyrenes improve to 17-1 overall and remain a perfect 6-0 in conference play. Keiser was tied with Ave Maria for first place entering the game, but now the Gyrenes have sole possession of the top of the standings.
Ave Maria is back on the road for their next game as they travel to Miami Gardens to take on the St. Thomas Bobcats Saturday, January 17. St. Thomas beat their crosstown rival Florida Memorial to improve to improve to 3-3 in conference play. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
