AVE MARIA, Fla. — It came down to the wire Tuesday night at the Tom Golisano Field House. Ave Maria had waited seven months and six days to hit the basketball court again, and the Gyrenes just went from one pressure cooker to another. After ending the 2025-26 season in overtime, AMU was able to avoid the extra frame and win in regulation, beating the Wayland Baptist Pioneers 82-81.
Coming into Tuesday, Ave Maria's clash with Wayland Baptist was one of the top early games talked about in the NAIA. Both teams were ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll, with Ave Maria starting the season ranked 13
th in the country and Wayland Baptist coming in ranked 24
th. Both teams then backed up their rankings on the court.
The two teams danced with each other for the first five minutes of the game before Ave Maria ran away in the first half. Trailing 9-6, the Gyrenes broke out on a 12-0 run to double up the Pioneers 18-9.
Wayland Baptist got back within a possession of the Gyrenes, but that was as close as the Pioneers would get in the first half. For most of the opening frame, AMU led by multiple possessions, with their largest lead of the half being 16 points, which they hit twice.
A big part of the Gyrenes' game in the first half was the three-pointer. Three of the Top-10 three-pointer shoots in AMU history all graduated last season, but the Gyrenes restocked on permitter shooters and are still up to their NAIA-leading ways. Ave Maria hit eight trifectas in the opening half, shooting 47.1% from behind the arc. In contrast, Wayland Baptist went 2-for-12 from downtown, for a shooting percentage of 16.7%.
At the break, the Gyrenes went into the locker room up 50-36.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Ave Maria hit their biggest lead of night, 19 points, twice. It looked like the Gyrenes would be able to cruise through the rest of the game, but the Pioneers had other plans.
Right after AMU went up 64-45, Wayland Baptist went on a tear. WBU outscored the Gyrenes 24-4 over the course of just under six minutes to go from trailing 19 points to leading by one. The Pioneers went 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. On the other end of the court, the Gyrenes went 2-for-6 during the stretch. The real kicker were the nine turnovers committed by the Gyrenes. With just 7:08 remaining in the game, Ave Maria found themselves trailing 69-68.
The last seven minutes were a dog fight between the two squads, but the Gyrenes ultimately prevailed. Ave Maria retook the lead with a big time three-pointer Lance Rawls to put the Gyrenes back up by two. Wayland Baptist responded with a three-pointer of their own, but Ave Maria immediately marched back down the court and drained their 10
th three of the game off the hands of newcomer Zane McCarty. The Gyrenes held onto the lead gained by McCarty for the rest of the game.
A quick 8-0 run built the lead back up to nine for Ave Maria with two and a half minutes to play. The Gyrenes were looking good but just had to fend off one more rush from the Pioneers.
A three-pointer with under a minute to play made it a two point game at 82-80. After an empty Ave Maria possession, Wayland Baptist had the ball with the shot clock turned off. The Pioneers went for the win with a three-point attempt. The shooter missed the shot but did draw the foul to go to the line for three shots with the game on the line.
Shooting into the hostile Dog Pound student section, Wayland Baptist's Freddie Cooper only hit one of his three free throws.
The Pioneers sent the Gyrenes to the line one more time, but both free throws were missed. That gave WBU three and a half seconds to get one more shot off. The Pioneers rushed down the floor and tried for a game-winning layup, but the red lights were already shining as Ave Maria survived with an 82-81 win.
Sophomore transfer Noah Lovan led the Gyrenes in scoring Tuesday night with 16 points. Four other players hit double-figures with junior transfer George Sabatini scoring 14, returner Marlon Bennett scoring 12, and junior transfers Amaan Sanni and Rico Byrd each bringing home 11. On the glass, returner Alex Sherwood led the team with 13 rebounds. Sherwood also logged four blocks with the team totaling seven.
"Really proud of our group tonight," said Head Coach Jamon Copeland after the game. "Beating a Top 25 team that's as well-coached as they are takes toughness and trust. We've got a lot to clean up, and that is what October is for. But the fight and care factor these guys showed? That's the foundation. Back to work tomorrow."
It may be back to work tomorrow but the Gyrenes are not back on the court until Halloween. Ave Maria's next game is Saturday, October 31, and will play host to the Florida College Falcons. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
