With playoff positioning at stake, St. Ambrose let an opportunity slip away Wednesday night in Chicago. Saint Xavier scored on its last four possessions in the final minute to outlast SAU 64-60.

The Bees, who trailed 32-19 at the half, came to life in the second half, and tied the game at 57-57 on a Grant Mason layup with 1:25 to play.

After a Cougar basket, the Bees committed a turnover which led to two SXU free throws for a 61-57 lead. Jake Friel came right back and converted a tough three-point play to cut the deficit to 61-60 with 16 seconds remaining. Saint Xavier (16-11, 11-8 CCAC) split a pair from the line but with a chance to tie, St. Ambrose missed the front end of a 1-and-1. That led to two final SXU free throws in the closing seconds to end the scoring.

St. Ambrose (13-14, 10-9 CCAC) shot just 7-of-29 from the field, including a 2-of-14 effort from 3-point range in the first half. The Bees trailed by as many as 17 points in the half before getting within 13 at the break.

It took SAU less than eight minutes of the second half to match its first-half point total. And a minute after that, the Bees drew even at 43-43 on an Ignacio Dacunda free throw. From there, the teams went back and forth leading to the final sequence.

The second half allowed the Bees to shoot nearly 39 percent overall from the floor. But the team shot less than 23 percent from deep and connected on just 11-of-20 free throws. The Cougars shot just 32 percent overall but were 18-of-22 from the line.

Atem Agot came off the bench to lead St. Ambrose with 17 points. Friel also scored in double figures with 11. Dacunda and Mason each scored 12 while Guillermo Narbona and Elgin Bowen Jr. each finished with six. Zane Witt added four points and Evan Walsh scored two.

Dacunda grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. Narbona pulled down eight boards and Agot had seven.

SAU will close the regular season Saturday at Trinity Christian.