Bees fall to Jaguars in CCAC Tournament quarterfinals
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (17-13) | 44 | 34 | 78 |
|
Governors State (16-15) | 46 | 41 | 87 |
Governors State outscored St. Ambrose 21-12 over the final six minutes to pull out an 87-78 win in a CCAC Tournament quarterfinal game Tuesday night in University Park, Ill.
The loss ends the Bees' season at 17-13 while the third-seeded Jaguars will advance to a semifinal Thursday night.
After two Ben Schols free throws tied the game at 66-66 with 6:18 to play, SAU came up empty on its next four possessions, allowing Governors State (16-15) to go on a 6-0 run for a 72-66 lead. John Kerr's offensive rebound and jumper ended the nearly three-and-a-half minute scoring drought. After Kerr answered a Jaguar layup with one of his own, GSU knocked down a 3-pointer for a 77-70 lead inside the final two minutes.
Michael Williams cut the deficit to four at 79-75 on a three with a minute left, but the Jaguars capped an 11-of-12 night from the line by hitting six straight free throws over the final 51 seconds to secure the win.
St. Ambrose was forced to overcome a 10-point deficit in the first half after Governors State opened a 27-17 lead. But Kerr scored half of the Bees' points in an ensuing 12-3 run that trimmed the margin to 30-29. The deficit was just 46-44 at the half.
Unlike the two regular season contests between the two teams that saw the road team rally from double-digit second-half deficits to post victories, Tuesday's quarterfinal saw neither team lead by more than six points in the second half until the Jaguars pulled away late.
While both teams shot better than 61 percent from the floor in the opening half, St. Ambrose came back to earth in the second. SAU shot just 40.6 percent (13-of-32) after shooting at a 61.5-percent clip (16-of-26) in the first half. Governors State followed up its nearly 68-percent shooting in the first half with a 48.4 percent effort after halftime.
Kerr led St. Ambrose with 22 points and nine rebounds. Jake Meeske (17 points) and Williams (15) also hit double figures and helped the Bee bench outscore the Jaguar reserves 36-14. Jalen Jones finished with nine points and Warren Allen had seven in the loss.