On a day that John Kerr became the 50th member of the SAU 1,000-point club, it was a big shot by the 49th Bee to reach the milestone that lifted No. 20 St. Ambrose to victory.

Jake Meeske, who scored his 1,000th career point against Trinity International on Nov. 23, knocked down a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left to keep the Bees unbeaten in conference play with a 73-70 win at Governors State Saturday afternoon.

Meeske's three broke a 68-68 tie in a game that saw St. Ambrose (10-2, 6-0 CCAC) lose a 10-point second-half lead and Governors State give up an eight-point advantage over the final seven minutes.

After Meeske's 3-pointer, the Jaguas (6-4, 3-3 CCAC) raced down for a quick layup to get within a point. St. Ambrose turned it over on a five-second call but Governors State gave it right back on a turnover. Michael Williams hit two free throws with five seconds left and that was the final margin as GSU's final shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

The Bees got the win on a day that Kerr added his name to the St. Ambrose record book. The junior hit the 1,000 career point mark on a jumper with five minutes remaining in the first half.

The milestone was the lone highlight of a first half that saw the Bees shoot just 29.7 percent (11-of-37) in falling behind 37-31 at the break.

But the second half was a different story.

SAU opened the half with 10 straight points, finished with back-to-back 3-pointers from Tom Kazanecki and Williams, to open up a 41-37 lead. Minutes later a Dylan Kaczmarek three gave the Bees their largest lead at 50-40 with 15 minutes left in the game.

But as quickly as they took the lead, the Bees gave it right back. St. Ambrose went scoreless on its next six possessions as Governors State got hot from long range, hitting five 3-pointers as part of a 17-0 run. That gave the Jaguars a 57-50 lead midway through the second half.

The Bee deficit grew to eight points with seven minutes left before SAU battled back to ultimately grab a 68-66 lead on a Williams triple with 2:12 remaining. GSU tied the game with a jumper in the final minute before Meeske hit his big three.

Kerr and Kazanecki each scored 16 as all five St. Ambrose starters scored in double figures. Kaczmarek hit four 3-pointers in scoring 14 points. Williams finished with 13 and Meeske had 12.

Kerr (nine rebounds) and Kazanecki (eight) also helped the Bees grab a 48-35 rebounding advantage.

St. Ambrose will return home for a battle of ranked teams as the No. 20 Bees host No. 8 Olivet Nazarene (11-1, 6-1 CCAC) in a big early-season conference contest Saturday at Lee Lohman Arena.