Bees win Pizza Hut Classic
Monmouth, IL- The Fighting Bees won the Pizza Hut Classic by knocking off host
schools Monmouth College 80-76 and Knox College 77-61.
On Friday, the Bees got to the free throw line and got there often. St. Ambrose
made seven more free throws than Monmouth College attempted by knocking down
27-35 shots from the line. Monmouth, on the other hand, had a tough time at the
line and only converted on 11-20 from the charity stripe.
The Bees were able to control tempo the entire game and put together their
lowest turnover out put of the season with just 11 miscues.
In a seesaw game, the Bees were simply better down the stretch and made the
plays necessary to win. Tied at 56 all with 9:33 remaining, the Bees put
together a 13-6 run to put them up for good. Adam Fahrenkrog capped the run by
making a lay-up off of an Alex Burkle steal. Fahrenkrog was fouled on the play,
and knocked down the free throw to put the Bees up seven with 6:31 to go.
In crunch time, the Bees' Reggie Shipp and Brett Cole hit four straight free
throws with less than 15 seconds to play to put the game away.
Adam Fahrenkrog led the Bees with 22 points on 6-10 shooting from the field.
The senior from Long Grove, Iowa hit 10-11 free throws and hauled in 10 rebounds
to record his second double-double of the season.
Freshman Reggie Shipp had 14 points on 5-10 shooting from the field and
sophomore Alex Burkle added 10 points to secure the 80-76 victory.
On Saturday, the Bees faced a pesky Knox College team that would not go away.
Despite being outsized in the interior, Knox was able to hold their own with the
Bees for the first twenty-five minutes.
Following a Grant Kluge lay-in, the Prairie Fire cut the Bees lead to at
43-42 with 15:14 to play. On the ensuing possession Reggie Shipp knocked down a
three pointer off of Alex Washington's press. The Bees shifted their defense to
a 1-2-2 trapping press and completely stalled the Prairie Fire offense.
With the 1-2-2 press, the Bees went on a 22-5 run over the next nine minutes
to blow the game open. The press caused seven Prairie Fire turnovers and Knox
was only able to convert two baskets during that span.
Knox and St. Ambrose traded baskets over the final six minutes of play as St.
Ambrose sealed their fourth win in a row.
For the game, Alex Washington led all scorers with 21 points on 9-13 shooting
from the field. The 6'3 sophomore guard added four assists and three steals in
just 21 minutes of action.
Adam Fahrenkrog recorded another double double with 10 points and twelve
rebounds. Alex Burkle added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Brett Cole chipped
in with 11 points.
With the win, the Bees improved to 4-3 on the season. They will return to Lee
Lohman Arena to take on the University of Illinois-Springfield in the annual St.
Ambrose Pepsi Challenge.
Box Score 1
Box Score 2
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