Ave Maria (Fla.) Rides High Offensive Output to Punch Ticket into the Fab Four over Grace (Ind.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Bracket | Watch On-Demand | Box Score] The Ave Maria (Fla.) Gyrenes continued their high-octane run through the 88th annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Saturday night with a 99-86 win over Grace (Ind.) in a quarterfinal game at Municipal Auditorium.
Ave Maria (30-4) – winners of its last six straight games and the No. 2 team in the country in scoring average at 92.5 points per game – will now face either Langston (Okla.) (27-7) or Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (31-3) in a Fab Four game Monday night at 7:30 p.m. CT. Langston and Rocky Mountain squared off in a quarterfinal game later on Saturday night.
The Gyrenes – who are in the Fab Four for the first time in program history – were led by a stellar performance by Jack Watkins, who finished with a tournament-high 35 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including a perfect 8-for-8 on 3-pointers. Watkins added six rebounds and two assists for Ave Maria, which had six players finish in double figures in the victory.
Ave Maria led most of the game, using a 9-0 run to build an 18-13 advantage in the first 6:31 of the contest. Grace – which was making its fourth straight trip to the quarterfinals and lost in the quarterfinal round for the third time in the last four years – was unable to keep up with Ave Maria, and the Gyrenes extended their lead to 55-43 by halftime.
Grace (31-4) closed to within 65-60 with 11:41 remaining after a pair of Gage Sefton free throws, but Jonathan Effertz immediately responded with a 3-pointer for the Gyrenes, sparking a 7-0 run that pushed Ave Maria’s lead back out to 72-60 midway through the second half. Ave Maria kept Grace at arm’s length the rest of the way, as the Lancers got no closer than seven points – that coming at 93-86 after a Grady Carpenter layup with 1:28 to go – over the final 10-plus minutes as the Gyrenes rolled into the Fab Four.
Along with Watkins’ 35, Effertz had 13 points and four assists, Jaylen White netted 12 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals, and Alex Sherwood had 12 points, 17 rebounds, four blocked shots, and three assists. Marlon Bennett also had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench, and Michael Klekas chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds for the Gyrenes.
Grace, which had a seven-game winning streak snapped with the loss, was led by Hunter Walston’s 24 points, four steals, three rebounds, and two blocked shots. Sefton added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists, Michael Wellman came off the bench to get 13 points and five rebounds, and the duo of Grady Carpenter (six assists, five rebounds) and Ian Raasch (four rebounds) chipped in 11 points apiece for the Lancers in the loss.
