BABSON PARK, Fla. — Reeling from just their second loss of the season, the Ave Maria Men's Basketball team dominated Webber as the Gyrenes beat the Warriors 93-79. Michael Klekas led the Gyrenes, matching his career-high with 31 points.
Ave Maria came out of the gates slow as Webber raced out to a 11-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the game. The early double digit deficit did not phase the Gyrenes one bit though. It took some time, but the Gyrenes tied the game at 15 and eventually took their first lead of the afternoon off a three-pointer from Klekas that made the score 23-20.
The Gyrenes led for the rest of the half and even matched Webber's largest lead of 11. The Warriors worked one more tie before the half, but a back-to-back layup and three-pointer from Klekas gave the Gyrenes a five-point lead heading into the half.
The Warriors started the second half just as strong as the first half, hitting the first three baskets of the game to retake the lead. The lead teeter-tottered a bit between the Gyrenes and the Warriors, mainly off layups from Klekas and a couple of free throws from Jay White. Webber forced one more tie right around the 12-minute mark of the second half, but a three from Bradley Michel put the Gyrenes right back in front.
Ave Maria pushed the margin to double figures about four minutes later with another three-pointer from Bennett. The Gyrenes hit their largest lead of the night at 14 points a few times in the final minutes of the game. The final time came when Jack Watkins hit two free throws with 35 seconds left before both teams dribbled the ball out.
Klekas was the leading scorer with 31 points, matching his career-high January 6, 2024, when the Gyrenes beat the Southeastern Fire in their first ever game in the new Golisano Field House. Klekas also matched the game-high for the season for any Gyrenes, tying Jonathan Effertz' 31 points in the win against Keiser on January 14.
Two more players hit double-figures as Bennett scored 16 points, and Alcime logged 15.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 19-2 overall and 8-1 in conference play. Thanks to a Florida Memorial win over Southeastern on Saturday, the Gyrenes are now back in sole possession of first place in the Sun Conference standings and are a game ahead of the Fire and the Seahawks who are tied for second. Florida Memorial is lurking behind them in fourth place with a 6-3 record. The rest of the conference is below .500 in league play.
The Gyrenes are back home Wednesday, January 28, as they open a three-game homestand. The Gyrenes welcome the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans, whom they beat 85-69 in November. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
