Box Score BUTTE, Mont. – When head coach Carson Cunningham came to Carroll College in 2013, the Saints had notched only two wins the season before. In just his fourth season at the helm, he has led the Carroll to at least a share of the Frontier Conference regular-season championship after defeating Montana Tech 72-54 on the road at the HPER Center in Butte.
"It feels great to know that, at a minimum, we own a share of the Frontier Conference Championship," Cunningham said. "The fellas have embraced the battle that is the Frontier Conference slate. I'm rather impressed by their moxie, their ability to adapt and their esprit de corps. We have one more to go to claim the title outright. We aim to give it all we've got."
The Saints led wire-to-wire Thursday night. They hit 10 of their first 12 shots and built a 24-11 lead in the process.
Montana Tech battled back. After trailing 28-11, the Diggers went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 28-25. The Saints extended it back to 32-26 at the break.
Tech kept it close for most of the second half. The lead hovered in single digits until
Lorel Johnson and
Dane Warp hit back-to-back shots to put the Saints up 57-45 with 7:43 left. The lead wouldn't dip below double digits for the remainder of the game as Carroll cruised to the 18-point win.
Ryan Imhoff tallied 20 points while
Zach Taylor and
Dane Warp each added 17. Taylor and Imhoff tied for rebound lead with seven each.
The Saints were 24-53 (45.3 percent) from the field, including 8-19 (42.1 percent) from the three-point line and a perfect 16-16 from the free throw line.
Dylan Pannabecker was the only Montana Tech player in double figures with 13 points. Lukas Vining had a team-high six rebounds.
The Saints outrebounded Montana Tech 34-21.
Carroll can earn the outright title with a win Saturday against Lewis-Clark State or a loss by Montana Western in either of the Bulldogs' final two games.
Regardless of what happens with UMW, the Saints still have business to take care of Saturday in Lewiston, Idaho. The game is slated for 8:30 p.m. Mountain Time and will be broadcast live on 94.9 FM ESPN Montana Radio. A live stream is available via lcwarriors.com. Live stats will be available via Dakstats.
