DAVENPORT - Antwain Strong made a layup with one second left Tuesday night to give the Mount Mercy men's basketball team a 72-71 victory over Saint Ambrose in the season opener under new head coach Aaron Jennings.

Saint Ambrose took a 71-70 lead on a layup by Michael Knoll with 58 seconds remaining. The Mustangs missed a shot for the lead with 43 seconds left, but Knoll missed a shot for the Bees with nine seconds remaining and CJ Parker grabbed the rebound for Mount Mercy.

The Mustangs called a timeout to set up the final play and Strong delivered with an assist from Parker.

Alex Houston led a balanced attack for Mount Mercy with 16 points and nine rebounds. Strong finished with 13 points. Chris Ford and Parker netted 10 points apiece. Sheawn Bedford added nine points.

Tanner Reid led Saint Ambrose (0-1) with 17 points.

MOUNT MERCY (72): Wagner 1 3-6 5, Ford 3 4-5 10, Houston 3 10-13 16, Lamaak 1 1-2 3, Struss 0 0-0 0, Strong 5 0-1 10, Murdoch 2 0-0 6, Brawner 0 0-0 0, Bedford 3 2-3 9, Blohm 0 0-0 0, Gogg 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 20-30 72.

SAINT AMBROSE (71): Butler 6 1-4 14, Posley 4 1-1 10, Reid 6 2-2 17, Ainsworth 0 2-2 2 Knoll 5 0-0 10 Johnson 1 2-3 4, Hilby 1 0-0 3, Buls 2 1-1 5, Kohnle 0 0-0 0, Krahn 0 1-2 1, Dust 1 0-0 2, Brennan 1 0-2 3. Totals 27 10-17 71.

Halftime - Mount Mercy 36, Saint Ambrose 34. 3-point goals - Mount Mercy 8 (Strong 3, Parker 2, Murdoch 2, Bedford 1), Saint Ambrose 7 (Reid 3, Butler 1, Posley 1, Hilby 1, Brennan 1).