Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. – When Wednesday's matchup between ninth-ranked Carroll College and NCAA DII opponent MSU Billings began, it looked like the Saints were going to cruise to a victory. Carroll came out on fire, hitting four of their first five field goals to build an 11-0 lead.
The Yellowjackets would not go away quietly and battled back with a second-half run but it wouldn't be enough as the Saints earned the 76-72 win to move to 3-0 on the year. The game was an exhibition for MSUB.
Zach Taylor had 22 points to lead all scorers,
Match Burnham scored 14, Imhoff kept his double-figure streak alive with 12 points and
Oliver Carr scored 13 off of the bench for the Saints. Imhoff notched a team-high seven rebounds.
The 11-0 run by the Saints was answered with a 7-0 run by the Jackets to get back into the mix. MSUB cut the lead to as little as 3, 16-13, with 13:15 left in the first half but back-to-back buckets from Taylor sparked a 12-4 run which extended the lead back to double-digits at 28-17.
Carroll would lead by as many as 13 in the first half but MSUB chipped away at the advantage. The Saints led 42-34 at the break.
The second half saw a similar start to the first as Carroll built a 54-39 lead with 16:39 to play, it would be their largest, but the Yellowjackets weren't finished. They chipped away and cut the lead to 70-69 on a Marc Matthews 3-pointer with 3:48 to play but the Saints went 6-6 from the free throw line over the final 3:19 to ice the four-point victory.
The Yellowjackets had an opportunity to take the lead with just over three seconds on the clock by a three-point attempt by Jace Anderson hit back rim and was rebounded by Taylor who hit the final two free throws for the Saints.
Carroll was 15-19 from the free throw line, including 4-5 from Taylor and 6-6 from Burnham. Burnham hasn't missed a free throw in two career games played in Billings. He went 19-19 from the line in a win over Rocky Mountain at the Fortin Center last season.
Carroll was 30-57 (52.6 percent) from the field and held MSU Billings to 26-64 (40.6 percent). The Yellowjackets were 11-21 (52.4 percent) from the free throw line.
MSU Billings outrebounded the Saints 36-33. Ryan Chappell led the Yellowjackets with 16 points and Preston Beverly added 12 points.
"This was a fantastic test for our squad, and the fellas weathered some runs to pull out a hard fought win on the road," head coach Carson Cuningham said. "I think these challenging road games to start the year are helping us sharpen up. Now it's on to a mighty Pac-12 challenge this Sunday in Pullman."
Carroll plays Washington State in an exhibition game Sunday at 6 p.m. MST at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash. It will be the first game of any kind for the Cougars.
