Score: No. 22 Keiser 90, No. 11 Ave Maria 88 (OT)
Records: No. 22 Keiser (14-2, 6-0 TSC), No. 11 Ave Maria (11-6, 5-2 TSC)
Location: Student Life Center, West Palm Beach, Fla.

The Sun Conference Game of the Week did not disappoint, as No. 22 Keiser and visiting No. 11 Ave Maria entertained the crowd in a back-and-forth overtime thriller.
 
At the final whistle, it was Keiser that earned the hard-fought win to stay atop the conference standings, improving to 6-0 in conference play and 20-1 in the all-time series with the Gyrenes.




No. 22 Keiser 43, No. 11 Ave Maria 36

• The opening minutes were firmly in favor of the Seahawks, as Keiser scored the games first nine points and raced out to a 15-2 advantage, courtesy of five points apiece from Malcolm Mabry, Mark Gordon, and Marko Orlic.
• The Seahawks continued to dictate play as their lead reached as high as 17 points, 21-4, at the first media timeout with 14:01 on the clock.
• KU was dominant on the glass, out-rebounding the Gyrenes by a 19-3 margin nearing the midway point of the opening half while leading 23-13.
• Ave Maria continued to chip away at the Seahawks lead, closing to within four,  27-23, with 6:23 on the clock.
• Orlic canned his second trifecta of the game to halt the visitors' momentum and Jimmy Sylvain followed with a midrange bucket to make it 32-23 with 5:23 to go.
• Keiser's lead reached double-digits once again moments later, as Gordon's layup with 2:55 remaining pushed the Seahawks' edge to 38-28.
• Ave Maria responded with a 6-0 run to once again get within four points, 38-34, with 2:08 to go.
• Keiser finished the half strong though, taking a 43-36 advantage into the locker room.
• The Seahawks held a 23-13 advantage in the rebounding category through the first 20 minutes of play with 12 of them coming on the offensive end, leading to 14 second chance points.  

No. 22 Keiser 74, No. 11 Ave Maria 74

• Ave Maria started the second half well, closing to within a single-possession, 45-42, for the first time since the game's opening minute.
• However, the Gyrenes couldn't tie or go in front, as KU proceeded to build their lead back up to eight points, 56-48, following a Chance Anderson basket and the foul with 14:32 remaining.
• Ave Maria used a 10-4 spurt to close within two, 60-58, but once again, Keiser kept them from tying or taking the lead, as Gordon jumped in the passing lane for a steal and passed it ahead to Jermar Perkins for a transition layup with 9:06 on the clock.
• Following a Gyrenes bucket, Gordon sunk a contested three-pointer late in the shot clock, and had a chance for a four-point play as the Gyrenes were whistled for the foul.
• Gordon came up empty on the attempt from the line and Ave Maria connected on a three-pointer to once again get back to within two, 65-63, as the clock approached the six minute mark.
• Over the next five minutes, the two teams traded buckets until KU led 73-72 with 1:12 remaining.
• Out of their own timeout, Keiser had a good look from the deep corner but Sylvain's shot rimmed out and Ave Maria went the other way seeking their first lead of the contest.
• AMU did just that as Fernando Salsamendi tipped in a missed three-pointer to make it 74-73  with 23 ticks remaining.
• On Keiser's next possession, Gordon drove hard to the basket and was rewarded with a foul call.  AMU took a timeout to freeze Gordon and were rewarded as the senior missed his first attempt.
• The Gyrenes attempted to freeze him again by taking their final timeout of regulation but this time Gordon converted, tying the game at 74-74 with 10 seconds left.
• Ave Maria had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but Jeffrey Steele's three-pointer against tight defense was no good, sending the game into overtime.

• Both offenses were humming at the start of the overtime as the sides remained deadlocked at 81-81 after a Mabry make from beyond the arc with 2:22 left.
• After Ave Maria seized an 83-81 lead, Gordon nailed a three-pointer, putting KU back on top, 84-83 with 1:33 to play.
• The Gyrenes ran off the next five points, claiming their largest lead of the game, 88-84 with just 29 seconds remaining.
• Out of an Ave Maria timeout, Ryan Kroll canned his lone field goal of the game, knocking down a three-pointer, bringing the Seahawks to within one, 88-87 with 16 seconds to go.
• The Seahawks were forced to foul, sending the Gyrenes to the free-throw line with 11 seconds for a one-and-one.
• A missed free-throw was rebounded by Gordon, and he worked his way all the way to the paint for the go-ahead, swooping lay-in off the glass with three seconds left, sending the crowd into an uproar.
• With Ave Maria out of timeouts, Kroll intercepted a pass, and was fouled with one second remaining. Kroll split the pair to make it 90-88.
•  The Gyrenes desperation heave from beyond halfcourt came after the buzzer had sounded as the Seahawks prevailed 90-88 in a classic matchup.

• 1: It was the first overtime game of the season for Keiser.
• 3: The victory was KU's third win over an NAIA Top-25 opponent this season.
• 8: Anderson collected his eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
• 10-0: All ten fast break points in the contest went to Keiser.
• 11: Keiser has now won the last eleven meetings with the Gyrenes.
• 12-13: Mabry finished the game with 12 points, while Perkins came off the bench to provide 13.
• 13-14: The Seahawks have now prevailed in 13 of their last 14 outings.
• 14: Gordon's streak of 20+ point games now sits at 14, and he has reached that mark in every contest in which he has appeared in.
• 20-1: The all-times series between KU and AMU is heavily in the Seahawks favor, 20-1.
• 30: The two teams combined for 30 points in the five minute overtime session.
• 34-9: Gordon poured in a game-high 34 points, which tied his season-high, and also grabbed nine rebounds.

No. 22 Keiser

• PTS: Gordon, 34
• REB: Anderson, 12
• A: Orlic, 4
• STL: Anderson, 2
• BLK: Gordon, 2

No. 11 Ave Maria

• PTS: Salsamendi, 33
• REB: Behrend, 11
• A: Sullivan, 7
• STL: Steel, 3
• BLK: Three with 1…

 

No. 22 Keiser travels to play Southeastern on Saturday, Jan. 11. Tip-off time from inside The Furnace is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.