Pensacola, FL – The Pensacola Christian College men's basketball team took to the home floor for the first time this season taking on NAIA foe, Ave Maria University.  Ave Maria (3-0) with its length and experience handed the Eagles (1-2) a 116-80 loss.  John Clay (Jr. Landis, NC) put out a career high 30 points for the Eagles and grabbed 8 rebounds.  Noah Rawlings (FR, Richmond, VA) came off the bench and contributed 11 points.

The Eagles started tonight with a young lineup – freshmen Eric Evans and Christian Porter, sophomores John Clay and Anthony Horton, and junior James Shodimu. It was evident from previous matchups that Gyrenes player, Leo Behrend, was going to create quite a challenge for the Eagles because of his size, athleticism, and scoring ability. The last time the Eagles faced the Gyrenes, Leo Behrend scored 30 points. The Eagles held their own against the Gyrenes for the first few minutes of the game until the Gyrenes began to unload a barrage of 3-pointers. The Gyrenes also had a clear size advantage, and utilized it well in the first half.

The Eagles reduced scoring opportunities for Ave Maria in the paint by playing close help defense against their bigs. At halftime the Eagles were down 19 points against Ave Maria, 35-54. John Clay led the Eagles' offense the first half with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Ave Maria's Leo Behrend and Lucas Uzdavinis scored a combined 24 points at the half. Ave Maria outperformed the Eagles from the 3-point line, knocking down 8 three pointers, while the Eagles only hit one 3-pointer in the first half.

At the start of the second half, Ave Maria continued their barrage of 3 pointers by dropping another 9. The Eagles tried to close the gap but were unsuccessful at slowing down Ave Maria's talented scorers. Ave Maria continued to run their offense even better the 2^nd half by utilizing their size advantage in the post and athletic guards from the 3-point line.

The Gyrenes beat the Eagles at their own game, knocking down 17 3's as well as getting to the line 42 times.  Ave Maria was led by three players with 19 points apiece: Marcus Montalvo, Leo Behrend, and Lucas Uzdavinis.

More photos can be viewed in the photo gallery from tonight's game.

The Eagles go back on the road this Thursday heading to University of Mobile to take on the Rams at 7:00 PM.