COSTA MESA, Calif. – Ryan Imhoff scored 31 points, and the fourth-ranked Fighting Saints held off a hard-charging 22nd-ranked Vanguard Lions in a true road game in Costa Mesa.
 
The Saints looked sluggish out of the gate allowing the Lions to build a 15-4 lead before the Carroll defense stiffened leading to an 18-0 run that spurred the Saints to a 22-15 advantage with 7:53 remaining in the first half.
 
The Saints extended the lead to 32-22 with 5:01 left in the first half, but Vanguard closed on a 15-5 run to tie the game at 37 at the half.
 
Carroll opened the second half with a pair of buckets to regain the lead. Carroll built a 66-54 lead with 8:40 remaining before the Lions went on a run.
 
The Lions battled back and cut the lead to 69-68, but Carroll closed the game with a 13-5 run to close out the nine-point victory.
 
Imhoff's 31 points, the second-highest mark in his career, led all scorers and notched eight rebounds. Oliver Carr tallied 14 points, and Match Burnham added 12.
 
The Saints were 26-40 (65 percent) from the field and 4-9 (44.4 percent) from the three-point line.
 
Carroll outrebounded the Lion 32-28 but gave up an uncharacteristically high 26 turnovers on 16 steals.
 
Vanguard was 27-65 (41.5 percent) from the field and 2-18 (11.1 percent) from the three-point line, including 0-8 in the second half.
 
"That road game had a little bit of everything," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "I was impressed with the fellas' resilience and fight. We had fantastic contributions from all the guys. Imhoff, the Chemist, was throwing seven or eight different compounds at them, and mighty effective ones at that. And, Oliver Carr, the Dentist, came off the bench with some huge plays. The guys' big rebounds and big stops proved quite helpful. It was great to see them working together. Credit to Vanguard for the pressure and tenacity it displayed. That was a fun, hard-fought game. We need to make sure we learn from it. We're looking forward to continued growth."
 
Carroll is now 11-0 on the season and Vanguard dropped to 9-4. Carroll is one of just four remaining unbeaten teams in NAIA DI.
 
The Saints play one more true road game against Westcliff University Thursday at 8 p.m.