AVE MARIA, Fla. – Maxwell Benoit led the No. 18 Royals down south tonight and showed out posting a game-high 29 points on the road in a hostile environment, but unfortunately the No. 18 Royals were unable to come away with a big road win vs. a Top-15 team in the NAIA.
 
Tonight's Top-20 matchup held a lot of weight in both the Sun-Conference and the NAIA as both of these team are serious national contenders. The No. 18 Royals trailed the No. 13 Gyrenes by 1 at the half, 35-34; with both teams scoring 39 points in the 2^nd half and Warner falling 1-point shy 74-73.
 
Warner led 73-72 with 1:03 left on the clock in the 2^nd half but a layup by Ave Maria with :39 seconds left on the clock was enough to give them the edge they needed to win this pivotal Sun-Conference matchup.
 
Maxwell Benoit led all scorers tonight with 29 points, going 11-24 from the field, and tallying 8 rebounds. Joshua Rathell and Rod Boggan each posted 14 points for the Royals and Bart Schild grabbed 8 rebounds in tonight's game.
 
The No. 13 Gyrenes come in the TAC on February 8^th and expect the No. 18 Royals to defend their home turf in front of the tough Warner crowd.