St. Ambrose let a double-digit second-half lead slip away in a 78-75 loss at Cardinal Stritch Wednesday night.

A game the Bees had led since Tom Kazanecki gave them a 2-0 lead 18 seconds in went south late.

After Trey Affolter had given SAU a 10-point lead at 60-50 with a 3-pointer with 11:52 to play, the Bees immediately gave up a 7-0 run to see the margin shaved to three. Cardinal Stritch (9-14, 4-11 CCAC) pulled even several times but a Michael Williams three-point play gave SAU a 73-70 lead with just under three minutes remaining.

The Wolves scored four in a row to take their first lead of the game at 74-73. Williams came back with another driving layup to put St. Ambrose back in front. But those would prove to be the final Bee points of the night.

Cardinal Stritch grabbed a 76-75 lead on its next possession, and following an SAU turnover, scored again for a three-point lead inside the final 35 seconds.

St. Ambrose had several chances to tie late, but Kazanecki and Williams combined to miss three 3-pointers in the closing seconds.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped St. Ambrose to 14-9 overall and 10-5 in the conference.

Williams finished 9-of-15 from the floor in scoring a team-best 23 points. John Kerr scored 14 to go along with a team-leading seven rebounds. Kazanecki finished with 13 points and six boards. Jake Meeske and Kyle Rohr each netted six points in the loss.

The Bees will look to bounce back Saturday at home against Robert Morris.