BRUNSWICK, Ga. - The College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team will look to end their three game Sun Conference stretch on the right foot as they travel to Ave Maria, Fla. to take on the Ave Maria Gyrenes on Saturday afternoon.
It will be a matchup of the unbeatens as the Mariners (3-3, 2-0 SUN) and the Gyrenes (5-2, 2-0 SUN) come in as the last two unbeatens in Sun Conference play, with sole possession of first place on the line.
CCGA has won three straight contests thanks to their trio of Kaden McArthur, Salle Wilson, and Thaddeus Burns. McArthur is still the reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week and could make it back-to-back efforts with a strong performance in Florida this weekend after dropping 27 points in a 10 point win over Southeastern on Wednesday night. The sophomore also grabbed four rebounds and dished a pair of assists in the win for his team.
On the other hand, Wilson may be blazing his own trail for his first ever Player of the Week honors as the senior also scored 27 points in the win on Wednesday, grabbing six rebounds as well as one assist, one block, and two steals to go along with his impressive scoring display. It was a new career high for the Baton Rouge, La. native as he is now averaging 16.5 PPG in his final season at CCGA.
The Gyrenes come in off the heels of a 20 point victory at home over first year Sun Conference member New College of Florida, defeating the Mighty Banyan by a final of 97-77. Jonathan Effertz led the effort with 16 points shooting 70 percent from the field. The Gyrenes are averaging 91.6 points per night as a team, good for 16th in the country, led by Jack Watkins with a tick under 18 points a night. While they light up the scoreboard, Ave Maria also allows opponents to do the same, giving up 80 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot 46 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.
This will be the 17th matchup between the Gyrenes and Mariners, with Ave Maria holding an 11-5 series advantage. The Gyrenes have won the last two meetings and the last three in their home gymnasium.
Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m.
