VALLEJO, Calif. – Ryan Imhoff scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Carroll College to a 80-67 win over Menlo College Friday in the first game of the Frank Dye Invitational on the campus of Cal Maritime.
 
The Saints jumped out to a 15-3 lead before Menlo cut the lead to 24-20 with 7:31 left in the first half. Carroll then went on a 22-6 run to put the Saints up 46-26 with 1:22 left in the break. Menlo closed with a 4-0 run to cut the Carroll lead to 46-30.
 
Menlo cut the Carroll lead to 60-51 with 13:56 left in the game but Carroll would then go on a 20-7 run to gain a 80-58 advantage with 2:27 left in the game. Menlo would close with a 9-0 run but it was too little too late and the Saints would hold on for the 80-67 win.
 
"I often tell the fellas, 'It's a battle out there, my friends, and we wage that battle daily & nightly,'" head coach Carson Cunningham said. "We controlled the game virtually the whole way, but it still had some wild and wooly stretches. And it was a battle. Fortunately, we had some rather suffocating defensive stretches which allowed us to build big leads. We need to string more of those stretches together."
 
The Saints held Menlo to 21-of-59 (35.6 percent) from the field while shooting 28-of-52 (53.8 percent) from the field.
 
Imhoff's 22 points came on shortened minutes. He fouled out with nearly 15 minutes left in the game but the Saints overcame his early exit and earned the win.
 
Carroll closes out the trip with a game against tournament host Cal Maritime.  Carroll defeated Cal Maritime 75-67 but the Keelhaulers represent the toughest challenge for the Saints to date.
 
 "Tomorrow another battle looms in Cal Maritime, which is picked to win its conference for the fifth year in a row," Cunningham said. "It'll be a great opportunity to see how we measure up."
 
The Saints and Keelhaulers take the court at 8:30 p.m. MST.