Only five games into the season, St. Ambrose made an early statement, knocking off Olivet Nazarene 70-60 in the conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon in Lee Lohman Arena.

The Bees, now 5-0, are off to their best start since the 2010-11 team opened with six consecutive victories.

It was a 9-0 run late in the first half that helped give SAU control. Leading just 23-22 with 4:06 remaining, Will Spriggs scored seven of his team-high 13 points over the next two minutes to push St. Ambrose in front 32-22. He converted a layup in the closing seconds to give the Bees a 37-27 halftime lead.

St. Ambrose (5-0, 1-0 CCAC) fended off every Olivet Nazarene charge in the second half.

ONU (0-3, 0-1 CCAC) closed to within 43-39 and had possession of the ball just over four minutes into the second half. But Nikos Gerokostas came up with a huge block on one end and scored inside on the other. Seconds later, Gerokostas blocked another shot, leading to a Collin Wainscott 3-pointer that restored a 48-39 lead with 12:20 to go.

SAU ultimately pushed the advantage to as many as 15 points on a Grant Mason triple with four minutes left. The Tigers clawed to within seven points in the final minute before five late Bee free throws closed out the win.

SAU shot just .421 from the floor, but hit 8-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Bees also forced the Tigers into .361 shooting, including a .286 mark from deep.

Wainscott scored 11 to join Spriggs in double figures for St. Ambrose. Gerokostas and Guillermo Narbona each netted nine points. Aiden Cilladi scored eight, Mason had seven, Atem Agot finished with six and Ignacio Dacunda added five. Kieran Farrell chipped in with two points.

Narbona paced the team with six rebounds. Cilladi and Agot each grabbed five. Dacunda handed out six assists.

The Bees will hit the road to visit St. Francis Wednesday.