BRADENTON, Fla - New College men's basketball lost at home against #23 ranked Ave Maria University with a final score of 92-87. 

The Banyans got to play host to one of the top teams in the conference, and for the most part the competition lived up to the hype. Despite there being only two lead changes in the first half, the two teams kept pace with one another, only stretching out leads by a few points. The Gyrenes would begin to separate from the home team towards the end of the first half, going on a seven point run to give Ave Maria a nine point lead into the break.

The away team was stingy on defense entering the second half, building upon a lead that they would not give up for the remainder of the game. The New College offense found a spark late in the second half, but, faced with a 15 point deficit with nine minutes to go, the Banyans were unable to pull off the comeback. 

Charlie Yoder was the scoring leader for the Banyans, putting up 19 points. Jordan Clark was right behind him with 18 points and five assists. Jack Scott was a defensive leader for his team, leading the squad with 10 rebounds. 

After the loss, the Banyans go back on the road to face Keiser University on Saturday, February 1st.