St. Ambrose wins big on Senior Day
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Indiana South Bend (20-8, 15-5) | 34 | 41 | 75 |
|
St. Ambrose (5-20, 4-16) | 46 | 44 | 90 |
St. Ambrose closed out the season in a big way on an emotional Senior Day inside Lee Lohman Arena. The Bees (5-20, 4-16) played arguably their best game of the season, defeating twenty-win Indiana South Bend by double-digits, 90-75, Saturday afternoon.
Before the game, SAU honored three seniors - Brice Boyle, Andrew Morrissey, and the late Patrick Torrey, who was represented by his parents.
Holding on to a 25-24 lead with 6:12 remaining in the first half, a Will Spriggs steal and jumper sparked a 15-4 SAU run. Morrissey grabbed an offensive board on the next possession and was fouled. The senior connected on his two free throws to give the Bees a 29-24 lead with 5:46 left until half. A Max Steiner steal followed, and Ignacio Dacunda made a layup to push the St. Ambrose lead to seven.
The Titans (20-8, 15-5) stopped the run momentarily on a layup, but Morrissey hit a three-pointer to make it 34-26 with 4:46 on the clock. Steiner hit a three-pointer at 3:44 to give SAU an 11-point lead. IU-South Bend would make it 37-28 off a tip-in, but Jake Friel connected on a three-point attempt to give St. Ambrose a 12-point lead with 2:49 left until half.
But IUSB would go on a 6-0 run to make it 40-34 with 1:11 remaining in the half.
Two Spriggs free-throws stopped the run, and Morrissey grabbed another offensive board and got the putback for a 10-point lead with 29 seconds. Nathan Moeller got a block on the defensive end, and Spriggs beat the buzzer to give St. Ambrose a 46-34 lead at the break.
The Bees continued their dominance in the second half, shooting 57.1% (16-28) from the field. SAU got their biggest lead of the game with 4:07 left on a Friel jumper to make it 78-59. The end of the game was highlighted by senior Boyle's two free-throw makes and a long three-pointer with 22 seconds left to help St. Ambrose to a 90-75 win.
Morrissey led the way for SAU, recording another double-double. The senior center had 25 points and 15 boards. Three other Bees - Spriggs (20), Friel (15), and Dacunda (11) finished in double-figures. Spriggs had a game-high seven assists. Steiner chipped in six, Boyle and Moeller each had five, and Nikola Zelenovic had three to round out the Bee scoring.
