Justin Blondell buried a 3-pointer with less than six seconds to play to lift St. Ambrose to a 71-69 win at McKendree Wednesday night. SAU, ranked #25 in the NAIA Division II preseason poll, improved to 3-0 following the win over McKendree, ranked #8 in the NAIA Division I poll.

The Bees trailed the majority of the first half and were down by as many as 12 points in the opening half. A late run pulled SAU to within a single point at 36-35 at the half.

Despite McKendree building a six-point advantage in the early stages of the second half, the two teams stayed close down the stretch. A Chris Donnelly layup gave SAU a 68-66 lead with 1:14 left before McKendree hit three free throws to take a 69-68 lead with 23 seconds remaining.

With the clock winding down, Blondell took a pass from Justin Tiner and buried the game-winning 3-pointer. McKendree misfired on a 3-point attempt in the final second.

Mike Kennedy led St. Ambrose with 23 points. Donnelly finished with 19 and Tiner scored 18 in the win.