Photo Courtesy of Sofia Hurtado of Bethel University
MCKENZIE, Tenn. — For the first time this season, the Ave Men's Basketball team found themselves trailing at halftime to the Bethel Wildcats. The Gyrenes didn't panic though and put together a solid second half to win 96-90.
The Gyrenes came out of the gates swinging, scoring the first six points of the game in the opening minute. Alex Sherwood scored the opening basket of the game, then notched a steal and scored off his own turnover. Marlon Bennett then hit a jumper to put the Gyrenes up 6-0 in just 46 seconds of game time.
The two-possession lead did not last long however as Bethel tied the game up at nine just a couple of minutes later. Ave Maria took two more leads in the first half, but for the majority of the frame the lead belonged to the Wildcats.
Both teams were shot well over 50% in the first half, with a slight edge to the Gyrenes at 54.55% to Bethel's 52.27%. Where the Wildcats had the slight edge was behind the arc as Bethel sunk five three-points and Ave Maria only knocked down three.
With two and a half minutes left to go, a Bethel layup put the Wildcats up by nine, which was their largest lead of the evening. The Gyrenes were able to make up seven of those points but still went into the locker room down 53-51 at the break.
A layup from Bennett pushed the Gyrenes over the 50-point mark in the first half, something they have done in all four games to start the season.
Pablo Hernandez knocked down a three-pointer for the first bucket of second half, putting the Gyrenes back in front and letting the Wildcats know Ave Maria was not going down without a fight.
The lead changed hands seven more times before the Gyrenes finally took the lead for good with 9:36 left to play in the game. Lance Rawls hit a trifecta to put the Gyrenes up 75-73 and Bethel never regained the lead. The Wildcats tied it with a layup on their next possession, but a quick 7-0 run from the Gyrenes put the game out of reach. The run was comprised of layups from Sherwood and George Sabatini and a three-pointer from Bennett.
The Gyrenes shot the ball from behind the arc much better in the second half, going 8-for-18 compared to their 3-for-11 mark in the first half.
Ave Maria hit their largest lead of the night at nine points with 91 seconds remaining in the game. Bethel scored a few baskets in the final minute but could only make up three points as the Gyrenes walked off the court with a 96-90 victory.
Sabatini was the leading scorer off the bench for the second time this season with 21 points. Two other Gyrenes hit double figures as Bennett scored 18 points and Sherwood scored 17. Sherwood led the team defensively with 11 rebounds, posting his first double-double of the year and the 17
th of his career.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 4-0 and leaves the Volunteer State with a record of 2-0. The Gyrenes will make a return trip to Tennessee for two more games in the annual NAIA "The Show" Classic November 27 and 28.
Before that though, the Gyrenes are back home at the Tom Golisano Field House for two games. First, Ave Maria will host the South Florida Bible College Rams Wednesday, November 18. South Florida Bible is in their first full season of competition and Wednesday will be the first ever meeting between the Gyrenes and Rams on the basketball court. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
