Jake Meeske scored 17 points to lead four Bees in double figures as St. Ambrose broke out of a recent slump with a 72-66 win over St. Francis (Ill.) Wednesday night at Lee Lohman Arena.

Meeske did his damage early and late. He scored 10 points in the game's first nine minutes, helping St. Ambrose to an early 18-7 lead. Then the senior guard came up big late, scoring his other seven points over the final 4:26 to help the Bees hold off the Saints (6-12, 4-8 CCAC).

Meeske's first points down the stretch came from the line as he broke a 61-61 tie with two free throws with 4:26 to play. Dylan Kaczmarek then knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 66-61. Meeske later hit 3-of-4 from the line but St. Francis, who already recovered from an 11-point deficit midway through the second half, again rallied to get within three at 69-66 with one minute left.

But with a chance to get closer, the Saints came up empty and Meeske converted a jumper at the other end for a 71-66 lead with 37 seconds left. After another defensive stop, John Kerr hit a free throw inside the final 10 seconds to finish the scoring.

Kerr scored 14 points and led the team with 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

Warren Allen came off the bench to score 13 points, nine of those coming in the second half, which included two big dunks (video below courtesy SAUtv). He also grabbed five rebounds and registered two steals. Michael Williams finished with 10 points and Kaczmarek narrowly missed double digits, scoring nine points.

The Bees, who had lost six of seven entering Wednesday, shot better than 57 percent from the floor in improving to 12-8 overall and 8-4 in the conference. Behind Kaczmarek's 3-of-4 performance, St. Ambrose also shot nearly 39 percent from beyond the arc.

SAU will host Indiana South Bend Saturday at 3 p.m.