The Bees didn't shoot like it was their first regular season game of the year.

Thanks to nearly 65-percent shooting from the floor in the first half, including a 9-of-13 performance from beyond the arc, St. Ambrose opened up a 60-28 halftime lead and cruised to a 101-85 victory over East-West Tuesday night in the Bees' season opener played at South Suburban Community College.

Michael Williams and Jake Meeske led the way.

Williams connected on eight of his nine first-half attempts, including 4-of-5 3-pointers, and Meeske was 4-of-7 overall and 3-of-5 on threes as the pair combined for 33 of SAU's 60 points.

John Kerr and Trey Affolter also each hit a first-half triple and contributed to the Bees starting 20-of-31 from the field.

The big early lead allowed 12 different Bees to take the court.

Williams tacked on just three points in the second half to finish with a team-high 25 points. Meeske matched Williams with four 3-pointers in scoring 14 points.

Warren Allen and Kerr had big second halves in each dropping in 16 points. Patrick Torrey netted 11.

St. Ambrose cooled slightly in the second half, shooting just 50 percent, to finish at 57.1 percent (36-63) for the game. SAU finished 11-of-20 from 3-point land.

Behind eight rebounds from Torrey and five each from Kerr and Allen, the Bees also grabbed a 35-25 advantage on the boards.

Isaiah Harvey scored six points, Tom Kazanecki and Dylan Kaczmarek each had four, Affolter had three points and Wilson Page added two.

The Bees will next compete in Clarke's Holiday Inn Express Tip-Off Classic this weekend. St. Ambrose will play Grand View Friday at 3 p.m. before taking on host Clarke Saturday at 7 p.m.