HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College men's basketball team shot a phenomenal 20 of 22 (90.9 percent) from the field in the second half, en route to a 96-70 win over 13th-ranked Lewis-Clark State Friday evening.
Zach Taylor scored a game-high 24 points and Matt Wyman scored a career-high 21 points to lead Carroll. Lorel Johnson scored 13 points, Match Burnham added 11 points and Ryan Imhoff scored 10 points, all coming in the second half.
The two teams battled for most of the first half with 13 lead changes and 11 ties with neither team gaining a lead larger than four points.
Taylor hit two free throws with 20 seconds to go in the half to tie the game but Doug McDaniel buried a three as time expired to give the Warriors a 40-37 lead at the break.
Lewis-Clark opened the second half with another 3-pointer to extend the lead to 43-37 before the Saints started the second-half barrage.
A 12-0 run gave the Saints a 49-43 lead in with 15:47 left in the game and the run started on the defensive end. Carroll forced 10 turnovers in the second half and Imhoff tallied three of his four blocks after the break, leading to a 23-10 advantage in points off of turnovers for the game.
The 12-0 run was just the beginning of the run for the Saints, after trading baskets but holding to a six-point lead, the Saints went on a 12-2 run, culminating on a 3-pointer by Imhoff with 9:12 left in the game to put the Saints up 72-56.
Lewis-Clark eventually cut the lead to 72-61 but the Saints went on a 21-4 run to build a 28-point, 93-65 lead on a 3-pointer by Matt Wyman with 1:11 left in the game.
A 3-pointer by Lewis-Clark's Nick Emerson cut the lead to 95-70 with 41 seconds remaining before the Saints closed with a free throw by Ife Kalejaiye to end the game 96-70.
"Well, that was flat out fun," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "The fellas energy and passion was fantastic to watch and to be a part of. I think the fans enjoyed it, too."
The Saints tallied 22 assists on 34 shot made shots led by Taylor with nine and Imhoff with seven who didn't tally a single turnover in the contest. The two teams came into the game as the two best shooting teams in the NAIA and spurred by the outstanding second half, the Saints got the better of the Warriors with 34 of 53 (64.2 percent) from the field to LC's 26 of 58 (44.8 percent).
The win is the first over Lewis-Clark in three seasons at the helm for Cunningham and the first win over a ranked opponent since defeating Arizona Christian 83-76 on Dec. 18, 2014.
It was also the first loss on the season for the warriors and Carroll held Lewis-Clark to 12 points below their previous season low, an 82-72 win over Corban University.
"Lewis-Clark State is really good and they play really hard," Cunningham said. "We're excited and grateful for the win. We also know that we're early in the conference slate and we need to learn from this one and use it to help us get better."
The Saints are now 6-2 on the season and 2-0 in Frontier Conference play but with each teams playing each other three times each during the conference season, there is still a long road ahead for the Saints.
Carroll continues conference play Wednesday at home against No. 23 Montana Western. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the PE Center.
