Playing on the road for the first time all season, against a top-15 team, proved to be too much for a young Bee team to handle. St. Ambrose shot 37 percent from the floor in falling to No. 14 Marian 81-48 Friday in the first round of the Clarke Holiday Inn Tip-Off Classic.

The Knights (3-0) used a pair of big runs to pull away from the Bees.

St. Ambrose trailed just 26-19 on a Tom Kazanecki jumper with five minutes remaining in the first half. But a Nathan Moeller free throw would be SAU's only point over the next four minutes as Marian went on a 12-1 spurt to open a 38-20 lead.

The deficit was 42-24 at the half and Kazanecki scored the first four points of the second half to cut the gap to 42-28. St. Ambrose would not score again until the 11-minute mark as Marian ran off 18 straight to build a 60-28 lead. The Knights maintained control from there.

SAU shot 9-of-28 from the floor in the first half, slightly better than 32 percent. The Bees misfired on all four of their 3-point attempts.

Things only slightly improved in the second half as St. Ambrose connected on 10-of-23 field goals (43.5 percent), including a 2-of-9 mark from beyond the arc.

Marian finished better than 52 percent from the floor and buried 9-of-21 from 3-point range.

Kazanecki was the lone Bee to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points. He also grabbed a team-best five rebounds.

Drake Gunn finished with eight points and four boards. Will Spriggs came off the bench to add five points. Ben Schols and Grant Mason each scored four. Six other Bees contributed at least two points apiece.

The Bees will face the loser of the tournament's other first-round game between host Clarke and McPherson Saturday afternoon.