AVE MARIA, Fla. – Clinging to a three-point lead with just over two minutes to play, Florida Memorial couldn't get shots to fall late as Ave Maria went on a 10-0 run to rally back and defeat the Lions 96-90 Saturday afternoon in both teams' Sun Conference opener at the Tom Golisano Field House.

Florida Memorial (1-3, 0-1 Sun Conference), which is set to host Florida National University Tuesday in its home opener, held a three-point lead twice during the final three minutes of the game. Mubashar Ali sank a smooth jumper from the high post to put the Lions up 83-80 at the 2:58 mark and Freddy Reeves knocked down a pair of free throws to put FMU up 85-82 with 2:18 left to play.

Reeves' free throws would be the only points that the Lions would score for nearly the next two minutes while Ave Maria sparked its run with three straight dunks. 

Despite the late the drought, which featured a handful of shots literally rolling off the rim instead of through the net, FMU had four players finish with 12 or more points. Jordan Martin led with 23 points, Ali, the nation's leader in rebounds, recorded another double-double with 18 points and 11 boards, Reeves added 16 points (6-of-6 from the free throw line), and Jordan Collins chipped in with 12 points.

The Lions did make the game hard for Gyrenes star forward Leo Behrend. Behrend, the preseason pick for the conference's player of the year, did finish with a game-high 26 points but he was more of a volume scorer – taking 21 shots to manufacture his point total.