Will Spriggs scored a career-high 35 points but missed a chance to tie in the closing seconds as St. Ambrose fell to Saint Xavier 103-101 Wednesday night in Lee Lohman Arena.

Spriggs kept the Bees in the game in the second half, pouring in 24 points over the final 20 minutes.

It was his 3-pointer that knotted the score at 99-99 with just inside two minutes to play. Saint Xavier (18-9, 13-6 CCAC) answered with a basket, and after St. Ambrose (14-12, 7-12 CCAC) came up empty, the Cougars added two free throws for a 103-99 lead with 20 seconds left.

Five seconds later, Spriggs drew a foul and converted a pair of free throws to draw the Bees to within 103-101. SAU forced a turnover in the backcourt and got the ball back with eight seconds on the clock. 

Spriggs again got fouled but this time, the first free throw rimmed out. He missed the second and the Cougars corraled the rebound to secure the victory.

The fifth-year senior finished 11-of-22 from the floor, including a 3-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. He knocked down 10-of-14 free-throw attempts. Spriggs did a little bit of everything, adding three reounds, four assists, six steals and two blocked shots.

His 35 points were one better than his previous career high of 34 points scored against Trinity International in December 2022.

Spriggs helped St. Ambrose shoot better than 54 percent from the floor. That helped overcome a 51.5-percent effort from Saint Xavier. The Cougars burned the Bees from deep, burying 12-of-27 3-point attempts. SAU was 7-of-20 from 3-point range.

In a full-court track meet that saw neither team lead by more than seven points, the Bees committed 17 turnovers against the Cougar press. SAU forced 16 turnovers.

All five St. Ambrose starters scored in double figures. Atem Agot put in 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. Grant Mason scored 15 while adding four rebounds and four assists. Ignacio Dacunda posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds along with four assitss. Guillermo Narbona registered 11 points, seven boards and four assists.

Three SAU reserves combined for seven points with Austin Born scoring four and Kieran Farrell adding three. Collin Wainscott was scoreless in his 13 minutes of action.

The Saint Xavier bench outscored the St. Ambrose bench 54-7.

The loss dropped SAU into a tie for eighth place in the CCAC standings with Viterbo (9-17, 7-12 CCAC). The top eight teams qualify for the CCAC Tournament.

The Bees will conclude the regular season at home Saturday against Trinity Christian. The Senior Day game is scheduled for 3 p.m.