SALT LAKE CITY- Every head college basketball coach in the country will tell you that conference pre-season rankings matter very little when the ref tosses up the jump ball. Anyone that needed precedence got it Thursday night in the form of Carroll V. Westminster. The former, picked last in the Frontier Conference preseason coaches' poll, defeated the latter, the team picked to win it all.
The game could have gone the way of the preseason poll, Westminster led by 15 in the first half and held a 39-29 advantage at the break but Carroll did what they have done all season and got it done on the road.
The Saints chipped away and took their first lead (53-53) with 9:08 remaining in the game. The Saints built a 65-60 lead with 2:26 left to play but the Griffins tied the game up at 65 with 1:34 left on the clock.
Both teams possessed the ball but Carroll got one last chance and with just .4 seconds on the clock Zach Taylor hit a jumper to give the Saints a 67-65 lead.
Westminster called timeout but n attempt at a court-length pass was deflected by Jake Hollifield to end the game.
Carroll is now 12-3 on the season while Westminster falls to 7-7. The win moves the Saints to 6-1 on the road in 2013-14.
Taylor led the Saints with 16 points and Hollifield had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Oliver Carr tallied 13 points for the Saints.
"I'm really happy for our players, asst coaches, and Manager Brost.," head coach Carson Cunningham said. " They've worked hard and so it's great to see them enjoy an extremely tough road win. I'm told it's been quite awhile since Carroll won at Westminster, men or women. So to see both teams win is quite special."
The Saints shot 30-of-57 (52.6%) and outrebounded Westminster 35-26.
Cunningham believes that the difference came when the Saints made plays that they needed to make.
"There are a number of players who made huge plays," Cunningham said. "Zach Taylor, for one, made some rather gutsy and skillful plays throughout the 2nd half, particularly, of course, on the game winner. He's a delight to watch, and so are the rest of the Saints.
"We secured huge rebounds, made big stops, and delivered some nice assists. We can enjoy this tonight and then it's time to get ready for another battle."
The battle in question takes place Saturday, against No. 10 Montana-Western. The Bulldogs are winners of 11 straight, including a 74-71 win over No. 18 Rocky Mountain, Thursday.
Both the men's and women's games will be broadcast on ESPN Montana radio at 94.9 in Helena and on ESPNMontana.com. Pregame for the women starts at 5:15 p.m. and the broadcast will carry through the men's game.
