HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College men's basketball program sits in a tie with Rocky Mountain for third place in the Frontier Conference at 7-6, and their first meeting came down to a pair of last second free throws that helped the Saints prevail 72-70. So it seems fitting that the two teams that have been close all year meet for the final time in the regular-season finale Saturday.

Both teams are receiving votes in this week's NAIA Poll and the strength of the Frontier means that the team that finishes third will have a good shot at becoming an at-large bid into the national tournament.

The winning team will lock up the third seed in the conference tournament and the losing team will be thrown into the mix with the University of Great Falls and MSU-Northern, who sit tied for fifth at 6-7, to determine seeds four through six.

There is one more piece of emotion to add to the drama of a regular-season finale loaded with playoff implications and that comes in the form of three seniors that will be honored before the game in Logan Franco da Silveira, Nick Williams and Zayn Kirkendoll.

"We're excited to celebrate our seniors and, of course, to be playing a final regular season game with Frontier and national tournament implications," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "It's a testament to our seniors and the rest of the fellas that we're in this position. I know they are pumped to give it all they've got."

The Battlin' Bears come into the matchup as the hottest team in the Frontier. They have won their last three games and five of the last six since loss to Carroll on Jan. 31.

Four Rocky players average more than double figures led by Malachi Roberts with 15.1 points per game, fourth in the Frontier.

The Saints lost last Saturday 62-59 to Lewis-Clark after falling behind by 18 points late in the second half. Carroll rallied to tie the game but couldn't get over the hump. Before Saturday's setback the Saints had won their previous four games and are getting contributions from players across the board.

Zach Taylor leads the saints with 17.3 points per game but his average has fallen in the past six games to around 10.67 points per game while the rest of the Saints' lineup has picked up the slack.

Freshman Oliver Carr is Carroll's second leading scorer at 14.1 points per game but over his last five games he has averaged 17.8 PPG.

Carroll is currently fourth in the nation for Free throw percentage at 74.9 percents and are holding their opponents to 66.4 PPG, third in the Frontier.

The Battlin' Bears on the other hand are last in the conference in scoring defense at 74.07 points per game but second in the conference at scoring offense at 84.37 points per game.

The opposing forces meet Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at the PE Center.