In a back-and-forth CCAC matchup Monday night in Chicago, Ill., two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining allowed Saint Xavier to get past St. Ambrose 81-80.

The last four minutes alone saw six lead changes.

The Bees grabbed their final lead at 80-79 on a pair of Collin Wainscott free throws with 17 seconds left following a technical foul on the Cougars, who called a timeout they didn't have after getting trapped near midcourt.

But Saint Xavier (6-7, 4-2 CCAC) was able to escape with the win after Guillermo Narbona was whistled for a foul in the closing seconds. The two free throws put the Cougars back in front.

Ignacio Dacunda missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer for the Bees.

The loss came despite St. Ambrose (5-9, 2-4 CCAC) having one of its best shooting nights of the year.

SAU shot better than 57 percent from the floor (27-of-47) and over 47 percent from 3-point range (8-of-17). SXU shot just under 44 percent overall (25-of-57) but did hit 14-of-31 tries from beyond the arc (45.2 percent).

Turnovers were a major story.

The Bees committed 14 turnovers leading to 15 Cougar points. Saint Xavier turned the ball over a mere five times, leading to just five St. Ambrose points.

SAU shot nearly 64 percent from the field in the opening half, yet trailed by as many as 13 points early. But Wainscott scored the team's final six points of the half to draw the Bees even at 41-41 at the break.

The Bees would go in front by as many as seven points at 54-47 and again at 56-49 on a pair of Dacunda layups just over five minutes into the second half. Saint Xavier responded with an 8-0 run to go back in front 57-56.

SXU would build a 71-66 lead with six minutes on the clock but two free throws from Kieran Farrell and layups from Nolan Deitrich and Dacunda put SAU up 72-71 with four minutes left, setting up the late-game drama.

Thanks to four 3-pointers and an 8-of-10 performance from the line, Wainscott led all scorers with 24 points. He was one of five Bee to score in double figures.

Deitrich finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Nikos Gerokostas netted 13 points. Dacunda came off the bench to contribute 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and a steal. Narbona chipped in with 11 points and seven boards.

Farrell finished with three points and Zane Witt scored one.

St. Ambrose will visit Olivet Nazarene Wednesday.