Bees rally late, not enough to get past Cougars
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (11-13, 9-9) | 40 | 29 | 69 |
|
Saint Xavier (13-10, 10-5) | 45 | 28 | 73 |
St. Ambrose put their three-game winning streak on the line when they took on Saint Xavier on the road Thursday night. The Fighting Bees put up a hard fight late in the game but couldn't put the pieces together to complete the comeback, falling to the Cougars 69-73.
The Saint Xavier Cougars (13-10, 10-5 CCAC) held a five-point lead coming out of the locker room and pushed that lead to double-digits with a quick 12-4 run.
Senior forward Tom Kazanecki snapped the run with jumpers on back-to-back possessions. After a pair of Saint X layups returned the lead to 13, St. Ambrose opened up a run of their own. Kieran Farrell scored on a driving layup, knocked down a three-pointer, then collected a steal that led to a Patrick Torrey breakaway layup to cut the lead to six.
With the clock winding down, the game came down to free throws. The Bees scored five-straight points from the charity stripe, with Grant Mason knocking down a pair to cut the lead to two. After Saint X scored a layup on the next possession, Will Spriggs hit another pair of free throws to cut it back to a one-possession game.
The lead was extended back to four after a pair of Cougar free throws. With 14 seconds remaining, a costly turnover by the Bees on the inbound play ended the Bees' comeback.
In the opening frame, the Fighting Bees hung tough with the Cougars. At the midway of the first half, Spriggs tipped in an offensive rebound to give the Bees an eight-point lead. However, Saint X took the lead off a late 12-2 run, a lead they would hold on to for the remainder of the game.
Kazanecki led St. Ambrose with 21 points and eight rebounds. Spriggs and Mason were the other two Bees in double-figures, with 17 and 10, respectively. Torrey and Jake Friel chipped in eight points each. Jake Conerty came off the bench to contribute eight rebounds and five assists.
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Fighting Bees and moves them to 11-13 overall and 9-9 in the CCAC. St. Ambrose will take on another conference opponent at Judson Saturday afternoon.