MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Basketball team held off the St. Thomas Bobcats long enough Saturday afternoon as the Gyrenes won 74-70. Ave Maria got out to a big lead in the first half and hung on through the second half.

The first eight minutes of the game were pretty even between the Gyrenes and the Bobcats. Ave Maria took an early lead followed by a lead from St. Thomas. Nether team led by more than two possessions.

Just inside of 12 minutes left in the opening half, Ave Maria went on a huge 16-0 run that lasted over five minutes and took the Gyrenes from down three points to up 13. Jonathan Effertz got the stretch started with a layup, pulling AMU within one of the Bobcats. On the next offensive possession, Jay White knocked down a three, regaining the lead, one the Gyrenes would hold onto for the rest of the game. Bradley Michel hit another three pointer at the end of the run to put Ave Maria up 29-16.

On the other side of the court, St. Thomas went 0-6 from the field and committed three turnovers during the run.

The Gyrenes steadily continued to build their lead and went into the locker room up 40-24 at halftime. It is the fewest points Ave Maria has allowed in a single half this season.

Offensively, the Gyrenes slowed down in the second half, but the remained in front for the entire 20 minutes of the frame.

It got a little hairy in the final two minutes when a 7-0 run lowered the margin to just two points and the Bobcats were the closest they had been to the Gyrenes since White's three-pointer during the big run. St. Thomas had their chance to tie or take the lead, but an offensive foul turned the ball over to the Gyrenes. White hit two more free throws to build the lead back to four and Ave Maria escaped Miami Gardens with a hard-fought win.

Michael Klekas led the team in scoring with 17 points. Four more Gyrenes hit double figures with Alex Sherwood and White scoring 13, Marlon Bennett bringing home 11 and Effertz logging 10.

Sherwood also led the team with 13 rebounds, notching his 10^th double-double of the season. He is just two double-doubles away from tying the program record for most in a single season.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 18-1 overall and 7-0 in conference play.

The Gyrenes are back home Wednesday, January 21, as they host the Southeastern Fire. It is the final of the first round robin of the regular season. The Fire beat Warner January 14 to improve to 6-1 in conference play and moved into second place in the standings after Keiser lost to Ave Maria on Wednesday and Florida Memorial on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.