Lee Hardrick and Jake Meeske combined for 59 points to lead St. Ambrose past Mount Mercy 94-86 in the Bees' home opener Wednesday night at Lee Lohman Arena.

Hardrick scored 31 points (10-of-13 field goals) and Meeske finished with 28 (8-of-15). The duo also combined to hit 17-of-21 free throws.

The starting backcourt came up in the second half, especially down the stretch.

With SAU leading 72-65 with 6:37 to play, Hardrick and Meeske combined to score the next 20 Bee points, 14 of those coming from Hardrick.

After Mount Mercy (1-3) hit back-to-back threes to trim the margin to 80-75, Hardrick hit a jumper and Meeske followed with a 3-pointer to give the Bees some breathing room at 85-75 with 1:30 left.

Hardrick helped seal the win with five free throws over the final 1:14. Meeske hit two from the line to build a 92-84 lead with 32 seconds left before Greg Wagner ended the scoring with two free throws with 21 seconds remaining.

In the second half, Hardrick and Meeske totaled 37 of the team's 54 points and hit 10 of their 11 attempts from the field.

The Bees also got a big boost from Tyler Hilby, who scored eight of his 12 points over a three-minute stretch in the second half after Mount Mercy closed to within four points with just under 11 minutes to go. Hilby's final basket extended the lead to 72-61, setting the way for Hardrick and Meeske's final push.

St. Ambrose shot 56.4 percent from the floor as a team and finished with a 38-29 rebounding advantage.

Hardrick also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds and shared team-high honors with Dylan Kaczmarek with three assists. Warren Allen pulled down six boards and Wagner finished with nine points and five rebounds. Blake Buls contributed six points and four boards.

SAU (3-1) will next compete in the Trinity Christian Troll Classic. Friday, the Bees will face Grace Bible College before taking on Wilberforce Saturday.