St. Ambrose did all it could to overcome a slow start. But despite tying the game late, the Bees fell at Indiana Northwest 68-65 Saturday afternoon.

The Bees spotted the RedHawks an 11-3 lead four minutes into the game. It was the start of a rough half for SAU, which shot 10-of-34 from the field (29.4 percent), 5-of-19 from 3-point range (26.3 pecent), and 0-of-1 from the line over the game's first 20 minutes.

That, along with eight first-half turnovers, allowed Indiana Northwest (4-2, 2-1 CCAC) to open a 41-25 lead at the half.

But the second half was a different story.

St. Ambrose (3-4, 1-1 CCAC) shot better than 45 percent from the floor and hit six 3-pointers in 16 attempts in the second half to climb back into the game.

Guillermo Narbona ultimately knocked down a jumper that tied the score at 65-65 with just over 2:30 remaining. The RedHawks responded by making 1-of-2 from the line.

Trailing 66-65, the Bees had three shots at the lead, but Ignacio Dacunda was blocked inside and Nolan Deitrich missed a pair of 3-point tries. That led to two more IU Northwest free throws with 1:32 on the clock.

But St. Ambrose's comeback ran out of gas. The Bees missed their final seven shots from the field, including two late potential game-tying threes from Narbona, to allow the RedHawks to escape with the three-point win.

SAU shot only 37.3 percent for the game, but despite IU Northwest shooting 46 percent, the Bees were able to stay close by attempting 17 more field goals. St. Ambrose also knocked down 11 3-pointers to the RedHawks' seven. The Bees were also undone by a 4-of-10 mark from the line. IU Northwest shot 15-of-20 from the stripe.

Dacunda led St. Ambrose with 15 points. He also came away with eight rebounds. Narbona finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Collin Wainscott tossed in 11 points to go along with four assists.

Deitrich and Kevin Williams each came off the bench to net nine points. Nikos Gerokostas finished with five points and Kieran Farrell scored three.

SAU will visit Calumet Tuesday.