Shorthanded Bees fall at Oakland City
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (4-8) | 37 | 30 | 67 |
|
Oakland City (5-6) | 40 | 45 | 85 |
A shorthanded Bee team put up a valiant fight before falling 85-67 at Oakland City in Indiana Friday afternoon.
St. Ambrose dressed just 10 players but stayed competitive throughout much of the non-conference battle.
Down by as many as 16 in the opening half, the Bees made a big run before the break. Trailing 36-20 with less than six minutes left in the half, Solomon Garrison got things started with a layup and 3-pointer.
After an Oakland City basket, Collin Wainscott knocked down a three. Fran Lopez Alameda scored and Wainscott added two free throws to trim the deficit to 38-32.
The Mighy Oaks scored to go up eight before Nikos Gerokostas drilled a 3-pointer and Guillermo Narbona scored in the closing seconds to cap the 17-4 run that got St. Ambrose to within 40-37 at the half.
Narbona scored the first points of the second half to close the gap to a single point at 40-39, but SAU ran out of gas down the stretch.
The Bees would score just three points - that coming on a Gerokostas layup and a Ryan Kenney free throw - as Oakland City (5-6) went on an 18-3 run to build a 58-42 lead. The margin was in double figures the rest of the way.
St. Ambrose (4-8) shot just 35.4 percent overall and less than 20 percent (5-of-26) from 3-point range. Oakland City shot nearly 48 percent overall and hit 7-of-20 from deep.
The Bees were also outscored 52-34 in the paint and 18-0 on fastbreak points.
Lopez Alameda came off the bench to lead the team with 14 points and eight rebounds. Narbona and Garrison each scored 13 points and Wainscott finished with 12.
Gerokostas and Kevin Williams netted five points apiece, Kenney scored three points and Zane Witt added two.
Narbona and Alec Platipodis each pulled down seven boards. Nolan Sexton also played for the Bees.
St. Ambrose is now off until hosting Trinity Christian in a CCAC matchup on Saturday, Jan. 3.