CLINTON, Iowa - The end of the greatest rivalry in the Midwest Collegiate Conference didn't go the way the Ashford University men's basketball squad wanted.
The Saints, playing host to the #22-ranked Fighting Bees of St. Ambrose for the final time ever in MCC regular season play, saw a late lead slip away as the nationally ranked Bees defeated AU, 58-56.
Senior guard Javier Valdez led Ashford with 16 points thanks in part to a four-of-six shooting effort from beyond the three-point arc. Milwaukee, Wis.-native Jason Landry finished with 10 points while Peter Tanzillo scored nine points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
The teams traded buckets throughout a majority of the first half. Seven lead changed occurred which included four within the final three minutes as SAU took a slim one-point lead, 28-27, into the break at halftime.
Tanzillo led the Saints at the break with seven points on three-of-five shooting from the field. St. Ambrose held a higher shooting percentage, but it was the Saints' solid three-point shooting in the first half which kept the tilt within a point. Senior guard Jonathan Wyatt hit two-of-five in the first half while Valdez accounted for the third trifecta.
St. Ambrose forced Ashford into a quick timeout following the break by going on a fast 7-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 35-27. But AU got the crowd and the momentum back on their side not long after that.
Trailing 41-35, AU raced out to a 12-0 run which lasted nearly six minutes to hand them their biggest lead of the contest, 47-41. The run was fueled by eight points by Valdez which included a pair of three point buckets. Matthias Burns and Iceland-native Vesteinn Sveinsson aided the run with two points each.
However, the visitors battled back and made another run of their own to take back a one-point lead, 52-51, with just 1:06 remaining in the game.
Burns nailed a jumper in the paint with 44 seconds to go, but SAU's Chris Donnelly sunk a three-pointer with 28 seconds to go which gave the contest its eleventh and final lead change as St. Ambrose squeaked out a two point victory, 58-56.
The Saints shot 21-of-48 (43.8%) for the game but free throw shooting became the difference in the contest. AU tallied just a 57.1% mark from the charity stripe while the visitors managed an 18-of-25 (72%) effort from the line.
The loss marks Ashford's second in three days that was decided by two points or less and drops its record to 14-8 overall and 6-4 in MCC action. St. Ambrose improved to 14-8 overall while holding a league-best 8-2 mark in conference action.
Donnelly paced the Fighting Bees with 15 points on four-of-seven shooting from the floor and a perfect six-of-six showing in free throws.
Up next for the Saints is a Thursday night matchup against the Eagles of AIB. Tipoff inside Kehl Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
