Gyrenes Head to First Ever TSC Semifinals with Win over STU
AMU Sports Information
BOX SCORE
AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Conference Tournament for the first time in school history on Tuesday night, claiming an 80-69 victory over St. Thomas University at the Tom Golisano Field House in the tournament quarterfinals. The Gyrenes earned their second-ever win in the conference tournament, and completed the program's first-ever three game sweep of the Bobcats.
Ave Maria never trailed in the contest, and led for the final 38:15 of the game after taking a 7-5 lead on a Romello Bates layup, which sparked a 7-0 run for AMU. The Gyrenes led by as many as 12 points in the first half, leading 30-18 with 6:20 to play. At the end of the half, Ave Maria held a 39-29 lead, scoring the final basket of the opening 20 minutes on a layup from Nemanja Brankov.
In the opening half, Ave Maria shot 51.7 percent from the field and made 60 percent of their shots from inside the arc. Leo Behrend paced the Gyrenes with 12 points on seven shots, which included a highlight reel worthy dunk that energized a near-capacity crowd at the Tom Golisano Field House. St. Thomas recorded a 41.9 percent mark from the field, led by nine points from Daejour Adderley, who did not come out of the game in the first 20 minutes.
Gianpaolo Riccio hit three three-pointers in the opening 2:07 of the half, starting the Gyrenes' second half on a 9-0 run. Ave Maria led by as many as 22 points in the second half, but the Bobcats would not go away easily. The conference's number six seed climbed back to within six points with 1:19 to play, but a three-pointer by Greenan Sullivan with 54 seconds left sealed Ave Maria's trip to Lake Wales for the conference semifinals.
Behrend's electrifying performance ended with the junior scoring 23 points and pulling down six rebounds to lead the Gyrenes to their 21st victory. Riccio's surge to start the second half powered him to 15 points, while Caelen Watts added 14. Bates posted a double-double in his final game at the Tom Golisano Field House, dishing out eleven assists to go with eleven points. For St. Thomas, Adderley was the leading scorer with 16 points.
With the win, the Gyrenes head to Lake Wales for a date with second-seeded Southeastern University in the semifinals of The Sun Conference Tournament. The game, which is set for an 8:00 p.m. tipoff, is the rubber match between the Fire and Gyrenes, who both won on their home floor in the regular season. The winner of AMU and Southeastern will face either Warner or Coastal Georgia on Saturday in the conference championship game.