SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The 25th-ranked Arizona Christian men's basketball team overcame a 17-point second half deficit to earn an 80-75 win over sixth-ranked Carroll College at The Master's New Year's Classic.
 
The Saints led nearly wire-to-wire, building a 62-45 lead with 11:44 remaining in the game before the Firestorm went on the attack. ACU rattled off a 16-2 run to cut the lead to 64-61 with 6:04 remaining.
 
Back-to-back threes from Matt Wyman and Ryan Imhoff and another bucket from Imhoff rebuilt the lead to 72-63. The Firestorm wouldn't relent and ACU took the lead on a three-point play with 23 seconds left in the game and added to the lead in the final second to earn the five-point win.
 
"We shot well and had some great stretches of ball, but we had a couple of untimely turnovers and Arizona Christian hit some huge shots," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "It was a tight, one possession game in the final minute and they made the big play. If we learn from it, this type of game can make us a better team. We must keep grappling."
 
The Saints were 28-51(54.9 percent) from the field but gave up 13 turnovers. Ryan Imhoff scored 17 points to lead the Saints, Kyle Nickol scored a career-high 15 in his first career start and Oliver Carr added 13.
 
Arizona Christian was 30-58 (51.7 percent), including 17-30 (56.7 percent) in the second half. Chris Sterling scored 23 points to lead ACU, including 10-11 from the free throw line. Shy McClelland scored 20 and Matt Willkomm tallied 11.
 
The Saints fall to 11-2 on the year while Arizona Christian is 11-1.
 
Carroll must rebound quickly as they face tournament host The Master's tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the final non-conference game of the season. The Mustangs are 10-1 after defeated in UC Merced 78-72 Thursday evening.

Live video and stats are available via The Master's Stretch Internet Portal.