St. Ambrose opened the Saint Xavier 2010 Midwest Tournament with a 78-61 win over East-West University Monday night as Mike Kennedy led four Bees in double digits with 24 points. The Bees are now 8-2 overall.

Chris Donnelly scored 17, Bryce Davis netted 13 and Joe Speth finished with 12 as SAU continued to try to move up in the NAIA Top 25 poll after falling to #16 in the most recent poll.

The Phantoms' Dontae Dangerfield netted 18 points but it was the Bees' defense that forced 16 turnovers to seal the victory. Justin Blondell finished with a team-high three steals and also had one block to contribute to the defensive efforts.

East-West went up by six off two Dangerfield fast break layups and an Antywon Brown jumper, but the Bees stung back as a 3-pointer by Kennedy and a Speth jumper tied the game. Shortly before halftime, after a Blondell 3-pointer, Speth drove into the lane missing a layup and forced a put back in for an eight point, 34-26 lead at halftime.

The SAU full-court press yielded results in the third quarter, forcing turnovers on two consecutive possessions that led to five points, which ultimately slowed the tempo of the Phantoms quick scoring offense. A 7-0 run midway through the half aided the 74 percent free throw mark in the second half as the Bees sealed the victory.

SAU will play St. Francis (Ill.) Tuesday in the second round at 8 p.m.