Ignacio Dacunda's layup for the win was blocked in the final seconds as St. Ambrose came up a point short in an 81-80 setback to St. Francis Wednesday night in Joliet, Ill.

In a back-and-forth affair in which neither team led by more than seven points, it was the Bees who had the final shot after Nikos Gerokostas came up with a big steal with 12 seconds left.

With SAU trailing by a point, Guillermo Narbona found a cutting Dacunda, who pump-faked as his defender flew by, but his layup was blocked from behind and the Saints came away with the rebound and dribbled out the final two seconds.

It was a cruel ending to a game that saw St. Ambrose (6-11, 3-6 CCAC) shoot nearly 63 percent from the floor.

Narbona and Dacunda led the way. Narbona finished 12-of-15 from the field in scoring a game-high 28 points. Dacunda shot 7-of-12 overall to drop in 20 points.

But while the Bees did most of their work from inside the arc, shooting 32-of-51 overall, it was the 3-point shooting of the Saints that ultimately made the difference.

St. Francis (10-5, 5-3 CCAC) shot a more-than-respectable 28-of-57 from the field (49.1 percent) but knocked down 12-of-29 from 3-point range (41.4 percent. SAU made just six triples.

USF was also a perfect 13-of-13 from the line.

The Bees led 38-35 at halftime and maintained a narrow lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half.

The Saints rallied to go in front 69-62 with under six minutes remaining.

Then it was the Bees turn to rally with a three-point play from Dacunda giving St. Ambrose a 78-77 edge with 1:35 left. Two free throws put St. Francis back in front but Narbona knocked down a short jumper to give SAU an 80-79 advantage with a minute on the clock. Another Bee foul led to two more Saint free throws with 43 seconds remaining.

Gerokostas had a shot for the lead but his 3-pointer from the corner came up short. But after a timeout, Gerokostas got the ball back with his steal leading to the final sequence.

Collin Wainscott and Solomon Garrison each scored eight points, and Gerokostas and Kieran Farrell each netted seven. Nolan Deitrich scored the other two Bee points.

Dacunda pulled down a team-best five rebounds while Narbona handed out five assists in the loss.

SAU will return home to host Judson Saturday.