HELENA, Mont. – When Carroll College men's basketball met Montana Western in early December, the Saints appeared to be cruising to an easy win, leading the Bulldogs by 23 points in the first half. Western had other ideas, the Bulldogs rallied to a 99-85 win in the Saints worst defensive performance of the year.

The No. 13 Saints and the No. 9 Bulldogs have both won four-straight games and are first and second in the Frontier standings. The two teams meet Thursday in Dillon for the second of three meetings and the stakes are high for both teams.

"This should be a fantastic, hotly-contested ball game," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "It's a fun thing to participate in."

The Saints are sitting in second at 5-1 in league and 15-3 overall while Western is still unblemished at 6-0 in Frontier play and 16-2 on the year.

Junior Ryan Imhoff leads the Saints with 17.56 points and 7.00 rebounds per game while shooting 55.3 percent from the field. Zach Taylor is second on the team at 15.5 points per game.

As a team, the Carroll has the NAIA's best shooting percentage from the field (53.9 percent) and from the free throw line (80.2 percent).

The Bulldogs are led by Shyke Smalls at 15.72 points per game, the highest among five players that average double figures. Riley King is averaging a team-high 6.47 rebounds.

The teams are slated to take the court at 7:30 p.m. at Straugh Gymnasium in Dillon. The game will be broadcast live on 94.9 ESPN Montana Radio and on ESPNMontana.com, a live video stream will be available via the Montana Western Stretch Internet Portal. Live stats will be available via Dakstats.