HELENA, Mont. – The eighth-ranked Carroll College men's basketball team rode another stellar defensive performance to a 65-42 win over Montana Tech Thursday night at the PE Center.
The Saints held their third consecutive opponent to under 50 points and was their ninth-consecutive win. The win tied the 2005-06 Carroll team for the best start in school history at 20-3. The Saints are first in the Frontier, a game ahead of Montana Western at 10-1 in conference.
Carroll led wire-to-wire but Montana Tech kept it close for much of the first half. The Saints led 19-17 with 7:18 to play but the Saints went on a 7-0 run, capped off by a
Patrick Colberg three-pointer to give Carroll a nine-point advantage.
The Saints extended the lead to 36-24 at the break.
Montana Tech cut the lead to 38-28 with 16:51 left in the game but that is as close as the Diggers would come. Carroll held Montana Tech scoreless for nearly six minutes in the second half and cruised to the 23-point win.
Carroll was 21-40 (52.5 percent) from the field and 18-19 (94.7 percent) from the free throw line.
Zach Taylor led the way with 14 points, four assists and five rebounds.
Lorel Johnson came off of the bench to score 12.
Montana Tech was 16-38 (42.1 percent) from the field and were led by Chris O'Neill with 15 points and six assists. The Diggers committed 19 turnovers.
The defensive commitment from the Saints has been key in the nine-game win streak. No team has scored more than 72 against Carroll and the Saints have given up an average of 56 points per game during that stretch.
"The guys are just reaching a magic group level, I think, where the sum is really equaling a bigger amount than the individual parts," Saints coach Carson Cunningham said. "That's special when you can get group action that raises everybody up. We have to keep that going. We have to protect that by maintaining our intensity every possession, chirping and battling in practice and in games. It's fun to coach. I think the fans appreciate it and they see the effort. I hope they understand it's not easy what they're doing on defense. They're working extremely hard. I think the guys are finding joy in that work. That's nice to see."
Carroll hosts red-hot Lewis-Clark State Friday at the PE Center. The Warriors have won four-straight games and moved into third in the Frontier standings.
The game is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on 94.9 FM ESPN Montana Radio. A live video stream will be available via the Carroll youtube channel and live stats will be available via Dakstats.
During Saturday's game, Carroll Athletics will celebrate National Wear Red Day for the American Heart Association. People are encouraged to wear red and there will be special giveaways, including a special red Carroll College t-shirt.
