Bren Gillespie capped a frenzied final 31 seconds of regulation with a game-tying 3-pointer as St. Ambrose rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final half-minute to force overtime before posting an 88-87 win at #13 Iowa Wesleyan.

St. Ambrose went toe-to-toe with the nationally-ranked Tigers but were on the verge of coming up a little short when the Tigers hit a free throw to take a 74-67 lead with 37 seconds to play. But just 32 seconds later, Gillespie hit his second 3-pointer in an 11-second span to tie the game at 78-78 and force overtime.

In the extra session, Gillespie hit 1-of-2 from the line with 3.7 seconds left to lift the Bees to an improbable 88-87 victory. SAU improves to 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference while IWC drops to 15-2 overall and 7-1 in the MCC.

The Bees led by as many as 11 points in the first half and held a 35-28 advantage at halftime. But the Tigers scored the first 14 points after the break to grab a 42-35 lead just five minutes into the second half.

Iowa Wesleyan appeared to ice the win when Nate Fuqua hit a free throw for the 74-67 lead with 37 seconds left. Then things got crazy.

Justin Tiner came down and hit a layup and got fouled with 31 seconds to play. His ensuing free throw wedged between the rim and backboard, and on the alternating possession, gave the ball back to the Bees.

Mike Kennedy and Justin Blondell misfired on 3-pointers but Kennedy grabbed the second offensive rebound of the possession and converted a three-point play to trim the score to 74-72 with 25 seconds left.

After IWC's Jeff Harper hit 1-of-2 from the line to push the lead back to three, Gillespie knotted the score at 75-75 with a triple with 16 seconds to play. Reggie Shipp hit a 3-pointer to get the Tigers back in front but Gillespie answered with another three to force overtime.

Like the final seconds of regulation, overtime went back and forth. Iowa Wesleyan had a three-point lead late but Chris Donnelly buried a 3-pointer to tie the score at 87-87 with 19 seconds remaining. After a Tiger miss, Gillespie grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 3.7 seconds left. The senior guard hit his first of two free throws before IWC misfired on a final 3-point attempt.

Tiner led the Bees with 25 points. Kennedy scored 19, Donnelly netted 18 and Bryce Davis finished with 10.

SAU will host Ashford Monday at 7:30 p.m.