LEWISTON, Idaho – Ryan Imhoff has scored 1,022 points in his career, 27 of them Saturday night but none were more important than a pair of free throws in the waning seconds of the Carroll College game against Lewis-Clark State that proved to be the difference in the 73-72 Saints road win at the Activity Center in Lewiston.
 
"That was an absolute battle. We did some really nice things, and so did Lewis-Clark State," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "Fortunately, we were able to come out with a hard-fought one point win. You've got to tip the proverbial cap to Lewis-Clark State. They were difficult to deal with. I'm impressed by our guys' moxie, by their ability to dig deep and keep battling."
 
The game was a battle from the opening tip, neither team could gain a significant lead. There were 12 ties and 15 lead changes in the game.
 
Lewis-Clark hit the first shot but the Saints countered with a bucket. It was a script that would hold for most of the game, one team would score but the other would answer. Carroll built a five-point, 36-31 lead at the half. Zach Taylor led the Saints with 14 points in the first half.
 
The Warriors took a 44-43 lead with 14:58 left in the game but Carroll went on am 8-2 run to take a 51-46 lead with 12:59 remaining. The Saints took a 60-52 lead with 9:23 left, their largest of the game.
 
The Warriors battled back to take a 72-69 lead with 49 seconds remaining. Imhoff hit a bucket with 32 second to cut the lead to 72-71. The Saints fouled Doug McDaniel, the best free-throw shooter in the country. He missed the front end of a 1-1, only the fourth miss of the year for McDaniel.
 
Imhoff rebounded the missed free throw, drove to the basket and was fouled on a layup with five seconds remaining. With all the pressure on his shoulders, he came through and buried both free throws.
 
McDaniel had one more shot at a three-pointer at the buzzer but the shot was contested by three Saints and the ball rimmed out and the Saints held on for the win.
 
"All of the guys made big plays, on offense and defense," Cunningham said. "Imhoff made a strong, confident move in the closing seconds. It's been awesome to watch him develop into such a force.  On their final possession, the fellas played great team D to get that last stop."
 
The game marks the end of the first round of the 18-game Frontier Conference slate. Carroll is 15-3 and 5-1 in conference play. The win was also the fourth-straight for the Saints. Carroll next plays Montana Western on the road next Thursday. The Bulldogs handed the Saints their lone conference loss of the season.
 
"It's still on the early side of the conference slate," Cunningham said. "We play 18. We need to get better from this and get ready for the next one."
 
Carroll was 26-51 (51 percent) from the field and 11-17 (85 percent) from the free throw line. LCSC was 28-61 (45.9 percent) from the field, including 12-28 (42.9 percent) from the three-point line. The Warriors were 4-5 (80 percent) from the free throw line, the only miss coming in the final seconds.
 
Carroll outrebounded Lewis-Clark 32-28.
 
Imhoff's 27 was a game-high and Taylor added 17.  McDaniel led the Warriors with 20 points, Anthony Sullen added 19, Isaiah Omamogho 11 and Ty Higbie 15.