DILLON, Mont. – It wasn't a typical buzzer beater but Montana Western's Dexter Williams Jr. hit a pair of free throws with .5 seconds left on the clock in double overtime to give the Bulldogs a 90-88 lead over Carroll College in Frontier Conference basketball action. An inbounds attempt by Carroll was knocked away and UMW held on to give Carroll its first set back in Frontier Conference play.
 
The game turned out to be a battle but started as a blowout in favor of the Saints. After trailing 6-5, the Saints rattled off a 12-point run to take a 17-6 lead with 13:52 remaining in the first half.
 
Carroll continued to add to the advantage, building the largest lead of the game 31-14 with7:06 left in first half but the Bulldogs began chipping away and cut the Carroll lead to 37-30 at the break.
 
The Saints started the second half with a 13-5 run to build a 50-35 lead and capped off with a steal, dunk and free throw by Matt Wyman with 14:55 in the second half.
 
Carroll kept Western at arm's length until, leading 10-59 with 4:05 left in the game, Western went on a 10-0 run to cut the Carroll lead to 70-69. Carroll held on to a slim lead but Shyke Smalls hit a layup with 9 seconds remaining to tie the game at 73.
 
Zach Taylor tried to mirror his heroics in the first meeting of the season when he banked in a buzzer beater to win the game in Helena but this time his shot at the horn fell short, forcing overtime.
 
Carroll opened the scoring with a Match Burnham 3-pointer but a pair of free throws and bucket gave UMW a 77-76 lead with 3:30 left in the first OT. The two teams traded baskets but Williams hit a bucket with 57 seconds remaining to tie the game at 83. Neither team was able to score on their final possession and the game was again extended.
 
In the second OT it was Western who built the early lead but Carroll went on a 4-0 run on free throws by Burnham to tie the game at 88 with 33 seconds left on the clock.
 
The Bulldogs shot with just seconds left and the ball went out of bounds off of a Carroll player with just .8 seconds on the clock. Williams was fouled on the inbounds and hit both free throws to give his team the two-point lead and the win.
 
The No. 12 Saints fall to 13-4 on the season and 5-1 in Frontier Conference play. Montana Western is now 4-2 in league and 11-7 overall.
 
Carroll was 26 of 52 (50 percent) from the field but committed an uncharacteristic 26 turnovers.
 
Western had 17 more shots than the Saints and was almost as efficient, shooting 33 of 69 (47.8 percent).  UMW also outrebounded the Saints 40-36.
 
"It was an interesting game to say the least," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "I was impressed with the way our guys battled. I'm disappointed in some of my in-game tactical decisions. At the same time, we all did some things that worked for us. It's important to tip the proverbial cap to the Montana Western players. They played really hard. We'll learn from it and get ready for the next one."
 
Taylor led the Saints with 26 points, Burnham tallied 23, Ryan Imhoff 13 and Wyman 12.
 
Shyke Smalls had a game-high 29 points for UMW and Williams tallied 16 points and a game-high nine rebound. Freshman Troy Scott came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points.
 
The Saints next host Rocky Mountain Saturday at the PE Center at 7:30 p.m.