Big second half allows SAU to get home-opening win
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oakland City (0-4) | 37 | 40 | 77 |
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (2-3) | 31 | 50 | 81 |
St. Ambrose outscored Oakland City 11-5 over the final four minutes to rally for an 81-77 win at Lee Lohman Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Bees trailed by as many as 11 points late in the first half and were down 65-55 midway through the second half in their home opener.
After finally trimming the deficit to 72-70 with four minutes to go, SAU went on a game-deciding 8-0 run.
First Ignacio Dacunda scored to tie the score at 72-72. Then, after a Fran Lopez Alameda offensive rebound, Guillermo Narbona scored inside to give St. Ambrose (2-3) the lead. The Bees then hit four free throws, with Kevin Williams and Narbona each splitting a pair around two makes from Collin Wainscott. That gave SAU a 78-72 lead inside the final minute.
Oakland City (0-4) cut the margin in half with a 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining. But Wainscott answered with two more free throws to push the lead to 80-75 with 16 seconds left.
The Mighy Oaks again got within three with six seconds on the clock, but Wainscott hit 1-of-2 from the line with five seconds left to seal the win.
Thanks to shooting nearly 56 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes, the Bees outscored the Oaks 50-40 in the second half.
Narbona led St. Ambrose with 22 points. Fifteen of those points came in the second half. He added nine rebounds and three assists in the win.
Lopez Alameda tallied 15 points and six rebounds and Nikos Gerokostas dropped in 10 points. The three Bees were major reasons the Bees outscored the Oaks 50-28 in the paint.
Wainscott came off the bench to drop in 10 points giving SAU four players in double figures.
Dacunda finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. Williams dropped in seven points. Zane Witt scored four and Kieran Farrell and Nolan Deitrich each added two.
St. Ambrose will open CCAC play by hosting Governors State Wednesday.