Fighting Bees move on

After coming off of an outstanding regular season, the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees began their quest toward the National Tournament with a 91-76 win over Franciscan in the first round of the MCC tournament.

The Bees jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first 9:15 of the game, but the Saints were able to trim the lead to one with a 7-0 run. That would be as close as the Saints would get as the Bees closed the half on a 31-16 run, which included four 3-pointers. The Bees went into the half with a commanding 45-29 lead.

The Fighting Bees lead remained in double digits for most of the second half. Franciscan was able to cut the deficit down to nine on three different occasions, but St. Ambrose answered on the following possessions. The Bees were able to extend the lead to 21 after Brett Jacobs connected on a 3-pointer.

Matt Fitzpatrick led the Bees in scoring with 23 points. Karl Petersen added 18, while Ryan Johnson chipped in with 12.

Ben Erwin led the Saints with 22 points.

St. Ambrose will play William Penn at 2 pm on Sunday in the Semi-Finals.

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