Jake Friel and Will Spriggs combined for 48 but it wasn't enough to get the Fighting Bees past the Trinity International Trojans in a 97-83 decision.

Friel scored 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting and Spriggs contributed 21 of his own on 7-of-13 shooting. The Bees shot 52% from the floor and 47% from deep but it simply wasn't enough to keep up with Trinity International (7-8, 4-5 CCAC).

The duo of Friel and Spriggs went head-to-head with TIU's own duo of Brandon McQueen and Jack Kahoun. McQueen filled in a game-high 32 points while Kahoun went 8-for-11 from behind the arc to add 26.

The game was tightly contested through the first half, with both teams taking the lead back-and-forth. The Bees were up by two with eight minutes to play in the first until the Trojans opened up a 13-0 run, eventually taking an eight-point lead into the break.

St. Ambrose couldn't find its rhythm on offense as Trinity International started to run away with it. The Bees were able to cut the lead to five with around 13 minutes left on the clock, but a string of three-pointers gave the Trojans a lead the Bees couldn't contest.

Tom Kazanecki was the only other Bee in double-figures, adding 11 points. Ben Schols brought down a game-high eight rebounds. Drake Gunn and Patrick Torrey came off the bench to score seven and six points, respectively.

Following the loss, St. Ambrose moves to 4-10 overall and 3-6 in the CCAC. The Bees will take some time off to celebrate the holidays but will be back in action on Jan. 5 against the Governors State Jaguars.