Fighting Bees Get Revenge

by: Ryan Holtmann

1/11/2003     5:56 p.m.

The conference season opened better for the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees this season, compared to the way it ended last season.  A solid team effort contributed to an 88-53 Fighting Bees (8-9, 1-0) victory over the struggling Mt. St. Clare Mounties (3-14, 0-1). 

Despite a little bit of a slow start in the first half, the Fighting Bees finally shook the Mounties with a 19-2 run that put the Fighting Bees up big for good.  Sparking the Fighting Bees and coming off the bench, was Tom Pavljasevic.  Pavljasevic came away with 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.  He managed all of this in 15 minutes of play.

Last season the Mounties ended the Fighting Bees run towards the NAIA National tournament, when Ben Mueller of the Mounties banked in a 55 foot half court shot at the buzzer in overtime of the MCC semi-finals.  Mueller as well as other top players from that team have graduated and moved on to better things, but Pavljasevic said it still felt good to get the victory.

"They have a lot of new faces, the revenge was not as sweet as it could have been, but they are still Mt. St. Clare and they still eliminated us from the playoffs last year," Pavljasevic said.

Three other Fighting Bees saw double figures on the day.  Curtis Clark, Brett Jacobs and Karl “Big Lad” Petersen all scored 12 points.  Jacobs snagged nine boards and officially came away with three blocks (he had more than he received credit for).  He also added three assists. 

Clark grabbed seven rebounds and also dished out three assists. 

It seemed as if the Fighting Bees were going to be given a lot bigger test than what they expected.  The Fighting Bees were the first to score and never looked back, but the Mounties refused to go away in the first half. 

Despite 12-point performances from Ben Erwin and Nick Lawrence, the Mounties could never overcome a six-point Fighting Bees lead.  The Fighting Bees then used the 19-2 run to give them a 42-22 lead at the half. 

There was no let up in the second half, as the Fighting Bees stormed out to as big as a 38-point lead.  By that time, the Mounties were in too big of a hole to get out of.

Thirteen players scored on the night, where all 16 saw at least four minutes of action.  Providing the biggest spark was senior leader Joe Barrer, who hit a three pointer and took an all-inspiring charge. 

The Fighting Bees will continue MCC play on Wednesday, when they will travel to Oskaloosa, IA, to face off against William Penn.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. or 20 minutes following the women’s game, which tip’s off at 5:30 p.m.  Both teams will return home next Saturday to open their home MCC play against Grand View College.  The women will play at 1:00 p.m. and the men’s game will follow. 

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