Final Score: No. 11 Keiser Seahawks 78, No. 10 Ave Maria Gyrenes 83
Records: No. 11 Keiser (24-5), No. 10 Ave Maria (26-4)
Location: Student Life Center - West Palm Beach, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Loghan Downie (G), Jackson Slater (G), Cameron Baldwin (F), Camerin James (F), Nadir Myers (G)
Ave Maria Starters: Jaylen White (G), Jack Watkins (G), Michael Klekas (F), Jonathan Effertz (G), Alex Sherwood (F)
No. 11 Keiser men's basketball fell in the Sun Conference Championship game on Saturday night in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Seahawks fall to 24-5, while Ave Maria claims their second consecutive tournament title and sits at 26-4.
Jackson Slater got the Seahawks on the board first with a fast-break layup just 49 seconds in. The Seahawks struggled to find their footing offensively in the early going, however, as Ave Maria reeled off a 14-0 run that pushed the Gyrenes' lead to 25-14 and forced Keiser to call timeout. Camerin James kept the Seahawks afloat in the paint, scoring 11 first-half points, while Mathew Shea chipped in seven points off the bench to help Keiser claw back into striking distance. The Seahawks trimmed the deficit to six at one point before Ave Maria pushed back out, but Keiser refused to fold as Jaylen Lee buried a three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to pull within six. Lee then capped the half with a buzzer-beating layup to make it 39-35 at the break.
Keiser came out of halftime facing an early hole after Ave Maria quickly pushed the lead back to double digits, but Nadir Myers took over with one of the most electric stretches of the game. Myers drained three consecutive three-pointers in a roughly two-minute span around the nine-minute mark, completely erasing an 11-point deficit and giving Keiser its first lead of the second half at 59-58 on a coast-to-coast fast-break layup. Myers finished with a game-high 26 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three, but Ave Maria answered every Keiser run and the Gyrenes pushed the lead back out to nine with under three minutes remaining. Slater's three-pointer with ten seconds left and a final Myers triple at the buzzer made the score more respectable, but the Seahawks ultimately fell 83-78.
Keiser will turn their focus to the NAIA National Tournament where they will wait to see where they land. The NAIA Selection Show will be on March 5 at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be viewed here.
- Keiser falls to 24-6 on the season
- The Seahawks drop to 20-18 in the Sun Conference postseason and 3-6 in the championship game
- Myers led all scorers with 26 points, going 10-of-22 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range
- Additionally, Myers led all players in the steals category with four on the night
- James recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds
- Shea contributed 12 points and six rebounds off the bench for Keiser
- Keiser dominated in the paint, outscoring Ave Maria 36-18, and also held a significant edge in fast-break points, 12-2
- Cameron Baldwin finished the game with four blocks
- As a team, the Seahawks now have 177 blocks this season, the most in a season in program history
- The Seahawks shot 43.3% from the field and 55.0% from three-point range
- Keiser also won the rebounding battle 41-39 including a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass
- Ties: 0
- Lead Changes: 3
- Largest Lead: Keiser (2); Ave Maria (13)
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