It was only fitting that a 3-pointer would be the difference.

In a game that featured 32 total threes, it was Mount Mercy that struck last. The Mustangs knocked down the last of their 18 triples with 0.5 seconds left to defeat St. Ambrose 93-90 Monday night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

MMU (5-4) hit 18-of-33 from beyond the arc while SAU connected on 14-of-22 attempts.

Over the final four minutes, neither team led by more than three points. The Bees, who rallied from an 11-point deficit in the first half, took their final lead of the game on a Warren Allen breakaway dunk with 2:28 to play. Jake Meeske then tracked down the rebound of a rare Mustang missed 3-pointer, but Meeske was whistled for an offensive foul on the other end.

Mount Mercy took advantage and tied the game at 88-88 with 90 seconds remaining. After the Bees came up empty, the Mustangs regained a 90-88 lead on two free throws with 41 seconds on the clock.

Allen wrapped up his 23-point night with a basket inside to tie the score with 16 seconds left. MMU ran the clock down before burying the final 3-pointer in the last second. A desperation inbound pass was knocked away to put an end to SAU's five-game winning streak.

With the work down from beyond the arc, both teams shot better than 50 percent overall from the field for the game.

St. Ambrose committed just eight turnovers but missed eight free throws in 20 attempts. Seven of those misses came in the opening half. SAU was also out-rebounded 36-29.

Allen finished 9-of-13 from the floor in scoring at least 20 points for the fourth time this season. Meeske scored 18 points, Dylan Kaczmarek had 12 points along with eight assists, and John Kerr netted 10 points. Michael Williams dropped in nine points. Ben Schols (8 points), Alex Portwood (5) and Tom Kazanecki (5) combined for 18 points off the bench for the Bees.

SAU returns to CCAC play to put its perfect 3-0 conference mark on the line Thursday as the Bees host Roosevelt at 6 p.m. at Lee Lohman Arena.