Fighting Bees Bounce Back 

It didn't take long for the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees (9-10, 2-1) to respond to their loss to William Penn on Wednesday night.  It was the Grand View Vikings (2-16, 0-3) who were the victims of the Fighting Bees 86-74 victory Saturday afternoon at Lee Lohman Arena.

It was an all around team effort for the Fighting Bees as they had three players in double figures and all ten players who saw action scored.  Matt Fitzpatrick led all scorers with 20 points on 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc.  

"The second half of the season, we have to be more consistent with our effort and consistent with our performance," head coach Ray Shovlain said after game.

Following Fitzpatrick in the points column were Curtis Clark and Tom Pavljasevic, both finished with 12 points.  Clark had one of his better games of the year as he grabbed nine  rebounds and dished out two assists, Pavljasevic dished out four.  Five other players scored seven points a piece (Chad Tancil, Cory Daniel, Freddy Lofombo, Brett Jacobs and Karl Petersen).

"We had contributions from just about everybody that rotated in," Shovlain said.  

"We had to play hard and get back on track (after the loss to William Penn)," Clark said.  "I think that everyone on our team got a little more excited and hopefully it can continue the rest of the way through the season." 

It took the Fighting Bees a few minutes to get going, but once they got the lead, there was no looking back.  Grand View, however, did not go away.  The biggest lead that the Fighting Bees could obtain was 15.

Leading the Vikings were four players in double figures.  Mike Brinker, also scored a contest best 20 points, while Brad Bach added 17, Demarcus Reid added 15 and Doug Kroyman 12.  Maximo Patrick had a team high six rebounds, Reid also had six boards on the day.  

A big key to the Fighting Bees victory came at the free throw line.  Despite being last in the conference (entering today's game) with a 64.9 shooting percentage, the Fighting Bees knocked down 24 of 29 free throw attempts.

"In close games, and especially in conference games they can come up big," Clark said of making 6-6 from the line.  "Especially when you are at home, you have got to knock them down."   

"It's a test question of mine, it's how quickly and positively you make adjustments, not matter what facet of life you are in," Shovlain said, "and we did that today."

The Fighting Bees will continue their three game home stand on Monday, in a non-conference bout with Faith Baptist.  That game tips-off at 7:00 p.m.  They will continue their conference play on Wednesday against visiting Viterbo.  That game will follow the 5:30 p.m. women's game at 7:30 p.m. 

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