AVE MARIA, FLA. – A torrid Ave Maria University Gyrenes shot nearly 55% from the floor for the game and won the Ave Maria/USCAA Classic on Saturday by defeating the Apprentice School 88-64.

The Gyrenes raced out to a 17-2 lead at the 14:34 mark on a 3-pointer from Kiel Lewis, that capped a 12-0 portion of that opening spurt for Ave Maria (8-4) who was ranked eighth in the latest USCAA Coaches Poll.  Apprentice School cut the margin to seven before a spurt pushed the lead back to 14.  Isaih Harrison's layup late in the half brought the Builders to within10 at 48-38 heading into halftime.

In the second half, the Builders opened with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 50-all on a Harrison jumper with 15:21 left.  From there, the hosts used a 27-4 run to break the game wide open as Akii Dean's 3-point play with 5:25 left put the Gyrenes ahead 77-54.

Ave Maria hit 36-of-66 from the floor (54.5%), while holding the Builders to 23-of-61 shooting (37.7%).  The Builders outrebounded Ave Maria 34-33 while turning the ball over 16 times compared to 10 for Ave Maria.

Harrison was the leading scorer in the game for Apprentice School (11-3) with 29 points and was the lone double figure scorer.  Matt Chattin paced Ave Maria with 22 points.

Apprentice School returns home to compete in the 2012 Martin Luther King Classic facing Barber-Scotia College on Friday night at 8 pm.