NAIA

Gyrenes Escape Rose City with Win

THOMASVILLE, Ga. – After trailing by 15 points to start the first half, the Night Hawks once again forged a comeback run to tie the contest, but consistent shooting from Ave Maria ultimately proved to be too much for Thomas, as the Gyrenes ousted the Night Hawks 67-58 Thursday night at TU Gymnasium.
 
Despite the end result, the Night Hawks' (5-3, 1-1 SUN) shooting improved in the second half, out-converting Ave Maria (5-1, 2-1 SUN) from the field 53.3% to 47.8%.  In the end, however, the 3-pt. game proved to be one of TU's Achilles' Heel, converting its lowest percentage (12.5%) from outside the perimeter on the season.
 
Fifth-year DeSean Enzor finished the night with 16 points and five boards while shooting 7-for-12 (.583) from the floor that included the Tallahassee, Fla. native's first made 3-Ptr. of the season.  Senior Guard Trint Bryant once stepped up for conference play, shooting 70% from the field while tallying 17 points, five assists, four boards and two steals.
 
Of Ave Maria's 18 total turnovers, 13 were attributed to Thomas steals, tying the highest total for the fourth time under Head Coach TJ Rines.
 
After a layup from Senior Guard Jordan Booker put the Night Hawks to within three points (7-4), Ave Maria's offense was in full force, running a 12-0 scoring spree that lasted over four minutes to give the Holy Queen's team a 19-4 lead with 10:40 left in the first half.
 
Thomas would respond scoring the contest's next eight points in a 3:39 span that cut the Gyrenes' lead to 19-12.  Before long, AMU erased the Green & White's efforts with their own 8-0 run to re-establish its double-digit lead.
 
After a good 3-Ptr. from Gyrenes' Matt Gillis gave AMU its largest lead (32-16) of the night at the 3:03 mark, Thomas would close out the half outscoring the Kelly & Navy 6-2 to head to the locker room trailing 34-22.
 
For nearly the next five and a half minutes, the game's momentum remained the same, with Ave Maria maintaining its double digit lead.  Thomas' comeback charge would begin with an Enzor jumper at the 14:32 mark that would ignite a 22-7 run over the next 10 minutes of the contest to tie the game 53-53.  Bryant and Senior Guard Tim Williamson were responsible for the rest of the points in the run, each notching 10 apiece.
 
With the game tied at the 4:59 mark, the Gyrenes rebounded to score a critical six points with a 3-Ptr. from Daryl Lewis and an And1 from Chayse Culpepper.  One minute later, Bryant would hit his lone 3-Ptr. of the night to cut the score to 59-56, but AMU's Klajd Kiri would muscle his way to make a layup that put the Gyrenes up by five with 1:14 left.
 
The Night Hawks would have an opportunity to match Kiri's basket after drawing a foul on the next possession, but the 1-and-1 was missed, which would all but seal the eventual 67-58 win for the Holy Queen's team after clinching the victory with free throws.
 
TU by the Numbers
3:        Players with 13+ Points
5:        Games Night Hawks shot 41% or better from the field
13:      Steals (Most this season)
18:      Forced Turnovers (Tying Season-High)
31:      Rebounds (Second-Highest Total on Season)
58:      Total Points
 
The Night Hawks will finish its five-game home stand Saturday, taking on the Fire from RV Southeastern University.  Tipoff at TU Gymnasium is slated for 4 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on games and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU men's basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMBKB.