A stirring rally late in regulation led to heartbreak as St. Ambrose dropped its final regular season game of the season 90-81 in overtime at St. Francis Saturday afternoon.

The Bees rallied from a 24-point second-half deficit to take a 71-68 lead only to see the Saints knock down a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime. After watching USF score the first eight points of the extra session, SAU was unable to mount another comeback and fell to 17-12 overall and 12-8 in the CCAC.

Seconds away from finishing in a tie for third in the conference and hosting a CCAC Tournament quarterfinal game, the Bees finished in a three-way tie for fourth in the league and tumbled to the No. 6 seed in next week's conference tournament. SAU will open the postseason at Governors State Tuesday night.

The heartbreak only existed thanks to that second-half rally.

The Bees trailed 49-25 more than two minutes into the second half. The deficit was at 16 points at 66-50 with under seven minutes remaining.

Then came the comeback. Jalen Jones hit two threes as part of 10 straight points to trim the margin to 66-60. After St. Francis scored, Jones answered. Dylan Kaczmarek hit a triple and Warren Allen scored inside to bring SAU to within a point at 68-67. Another defensive stop led to a John Kerr layup that gave the Bees a 69-68 lead. Jones blocked a Saints' 3-point attempt and Alex Portwood was fouled after grabbing the rebound. His two free throws capped a 21-2 run and extended the lead to 71-68 with 10 seconds left.

But after a Bee foul with less than five seconds left, the Saints inbounded from mid-court and hit a long three to send the game to overtime.

An then a USF team that struggled down the stretch in regulation, scored on its first three possessions of overtime, including a pair of triples. St. Ambrose never got closer than four points from there as St. Francis hit 9-of-10 from the line in OT to secure their own postseason bid.

The loss also spoiled a 33-point afternoon from Allen. He scored 26 of those points after halftime. Jones finished with 19 points and Kerr scored 12.

SAU's quarterfinal game at Governors State will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The CCAC Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals will be played Thursday and the championship game is scheduled for next Saturday.