Playing a top-25 opponent for the second time in three games proved too much for the Bees as No. 23 Olivet Nazarene overwhelmed St. Ambrose in the second half of a 77-57 decision Wednesday night at Lee Lohman Arena.

The nationally-ranked Tigers outscored the young Bees 60-16 in the paint.

But St. Ambrose started strong, opening the game on a 10-2 run behind five quick points from Drake Gunn, a 3-pointer from Tom Kazanecki and a layup from Ben Schols. SAU maintained the lead for the majority of the first half before ONU rallied for a 32-29 lead at the half.

Olivet Nazarene (6-1, 3-0 CCAC) scored the first eight points of the second half before St. Ambrose came right back. A Schols 3-pointer and a Jake Conerty layup sandwiched around four Kazanecki points to cut the deficit to 40-38 with 14 minutes left. 

But the Bees couldn't sustain that momentum. The Tigers built a 52-45 lead with just over seven minutes remaining and pulled away from there.

After hitting 4-of-7 3-point tries over the first 20 minutes, St. Ambrose was just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc in the second half. And the Tigers capitalized, shooting nearly 59 percent from the floor in the second half.

Kazanecki was the lone Bee to score in double figures as he dropped in 16 points. He also led the team with 13 rebounds.

Conerty added seven points, seven rebounds and five assists. Will Spriggs also scored seven points. Gunn finished with six while Schols, Grant Mason and Kieran Farrell each netted five. Patrick Torrey dropped in four points and hauled in six boards in the loss.

SAU, now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the CCAC, will visit Trinity Christian Saturday.