CLINTON, Iowa - A fractured knuckle couldn't deter Byron Emerson in the biggest game of his life.

With a heavily bandaged left index finger, the senior guard made six consecutive free throws and forced a game-preserving turnover in the final minute to help carry the fourth-seeded Ashford University men's basketball team past No. 5 seed St. Ambrose University on Wednesday night, 79-72.

With the win, the Saints (20-11 overall) advanced to the semifinals in the MCC Tournament, setting up a Friday showdown with top-seeded Grand View University at 7 p.m. in Des Moines. This marks the first time since the 2001-02 NAIA National Tournament-qualifying campaign that Ashford has advanced past the opening round of the conference tourney.

Senior guard Daniel Joiner of West Chicago, Ill., scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the first half and junior reserve Devin Ehrich of Thomson, Ill., poured in 13.

Emerson of Rockford, Ill., scored all 14 of his points at the free throw line and the Saints converted on 37 of a school-record 55 attempts at the charity stripe. He suffered the recently discovered injury followed AU's regular-season finale at Mt. Mercy College.

But there was no way the injury would keep him sidelined.

"All I kept thinking was "Senior Year,'" he said afterwards. "I'm not ready to stop playing."

St. Ambrose made things interesting down the stretch, whittling a 17-point second-half deficit to just three with 34 seconds remaining. Justin Tiner led SAU with 19 points as the Fighting Bees ended their season at 18-13 overall.

The energetic home crowd was a sea of gold in Kehl Arena, commemorating AU's "Gold Rush Night."

"We rotated on defense especially well in this game," AU Head Coach Andy Eberhart said. "Again, our fans were tremendous tonight and our players clearly feed off of their enthusiasm. We're excited to get the chance to play Grand View (University) on Friday in the semifinals."

The Saints clamped down defensively against SAU stalwart Mike Kennedy, limiting the talented sophomore to 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting.

Sophomore forward Peter Tanzillo of Kewanee, Ill., was a big factor in limiting Kennedy's effectiveness. He dunked for the second straight game against the Fighting Bees, taking a feed by Rashad Carrington of Milwaukee, Wis., to flush down a one-handed slam that had the Saints up by 15.

Tanzillo carved out eight points, five rebounds and swatted three shots.

But Tanzillo and the Saints' swarming backside help on defense wouldn't let Kennedy, who erupted for 38 and 35 points, respectively in previous meetings, catch fire this time around.

"The guys give me a hard time sometimes about missing layups so I'm going hard all the time," Tanzillo said with a laugh. "Last game, I fell asleep a little bit against (Mike) Kennedy. The key is being there on the catch and playing him physical."

The Saints exploded out of the gates on the momentum of long range precision by Joiner and Ehrich, taking a 34-25 lead at halftime.

With the shot clock expiring, Joiner rattled home a trey early on and Ehrich drilled back-to-back longballs that had Ashford up 16-7 in the first half. Joiner, who hit on eight of his 10 free throws, went to the bucket at will, taking advantage of a mismatch against SAU's Alex Washington.

The Saints face No. 1 seed Grand View on Friday in Des Moines, looking to avenge a pair of regular-season losses against the Vikings. Tip is set for 7 p.m. in Sisam Arena.