GAME NOTES l Live Video ($) l Live Audio l Live Stats

HELENA, Mont. – The fourth-ranked Carroll College men's basketball team opens the Buffalo Funds-NAIA DI Championship Wednesday as the No. 1 seed in the Cramer bracket against Mount Mercy (Iowa), the runner-up in the Heart of America Conference championship and the designated tournament host.
 
The Saints (27-5, 15-3 Frontier) are coming off of a 93-75 win over Lewis-Clark State in the Frontier title game and earned the No. 4 overall seed in the tournament, tied for the highest seed in program history. Entering the tournament as a one-seed usually means an easy opponent in the opening round but the Mustangs (21-11, 18-8 Heart) are no pushovers.
 
"We face a tough challenge in Mount Mercy," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "They are deep and play at a swift pace. We're going to have to come ready to play some ball."
 
Mount Mercy is led by Heart First-Team honoree Ben Struss who scores a team-high 12.5 points per game. Heart second-team honoree CJ Parker is second on the team with 11.5 PPG and a game-high 6.5 rebounds per game.
 
They enter their first year in NAIA DI after making the transition from NAIA DII. They made the DII Championship in 1996, 2013, 2015 and 2016.
 
Carroll is led by Frontier All-Conference First-Team member Ryan Imhoff who averages a game-high 17.53 points and 6.60 rebounds per game. Senior Zach Taylor, the Frontier Player of the Year, averages 16.8 points per game and leads the Saints with 3.63 assists and 2.22 steals per game.
 
The game will be played at historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City. The tournament is the in its 80th year, the longest running national tournament in the country.
 
"We're thrilled to play at this historic national tournament, in a storied auditorium," Cunningham said.  "When you walk through Municipal Auditorium you can feel in your bones the hoops history emanating through the place.  Time to lace 'em up."
 
The game is scheduled to tipoff at 2 p.m. MDT. It will be broadcast live on 94.9 FM ESPN Radio in Helena, online at ESPNMontana.com. A live video stream will be available on NAIANetwork.com ($) and live stats will be available via Dakstats.

 
HOW THEY GOT HERE:  MOUNT MERCY
The Mustangs are the "Host School, " but they aren't the typical auto-bid tournament host. They played in the deep Heart of America Conference which placed four teams in the NAIA Championship, including No. 2 overall seed William Penn (Iowa). Mount Mercy fell to William Penn 112-100 in the Heart Championship game last Tuesday after finishing the regular season in a three-way tie for second place. 

Mount is led by leading scorer and First-Team All-Conference honoree Ben Struss and Second-Team honoree CJ Parker. This is their first time in the NAIA DI Championship after making a move from NAIA DII this season. This is the fifth trip to the tournament, making the trip previously in 1996, 2013, 2015 and 2016. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE:  CARROLL
The Saints won the Frontier Conference regular-season and tournament championship to earn an automatic bid into the field of 32. Carroll has won six-straight games, including the Frontier semifinals (72-57 over MSU-Northern) and the Frontier championship (93-75 over Lewis-Clark State. The Saints won 16 of their last 18 games. 

Carroll is led by Ryan Imhoff who averages a game-high 17.53 points and 6.60 rebounds per game. Senior Zach Taylor averages 16.8 points per game and leads the Saints with 3.63 assists and 2.22  steals per game.
 
QUICK NOTES
• The Saints are the fourth overall seed and a No. 1 seed in the NAIA Championship. It ties the highest seed in program history with the 2005-06 team that advanced to the quarterfinals.
 
• Carroll won the Frontier Regular season title outright and the Tournament title for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
 
• The Saints are making the second-consecutive trip to Kansas City after advancing to the final eight at the 2016 championship.
 
• The 2012-13 Carroll basketball team won just two games and none at the PE Center. Head coach Dr. Carson Cunningham took the helm beginning in the 2013-14 season leading the Saints to a 9-19 record in year one, an 18-11 record in year two, a 23-10 and a NAIA Quarterfinal appearance in year three and already a 27-5 record in year four and a Frontier Conference title.
 
• The Saints lead the NAIA DI in field goal percentage (.535), free throw percentage (.813) and total rebound defense (28.78). Carroll is also third in three-point field goal percentage (.427), seventh in scoring defense (66.65) and eighth in assists/turnover ratio (1.29).
 
• Senior point guard Zach Taylor earned the Charles S. Stevenson Hustle Award at the 2015-16 championship after leading the Saints to the quarterfinals.
 
• Taylor is the lone senior on the squad and earned Frontier Conference Player of the Year honors and was named to the Frontier First-Team for the Second-Consecutive season.
 
• Taylor has 1975 career points. He is currently third on the Carroll all-time scoring list, just 10 points behind former All-American Andy Garland. All-time leading scorer Bill Pilgeram is well out of reach with 2,515 points.
 
• Ryan Imhoff earned his second-consecutive Frontier First-Team nod. He leads the Saints in scoring at 17.5 PPG and rebounding at 6.6 PPG.
 
• Match Burnham led the country in three-point percentage before suffering an injury six weeks ago. His .522 percentage would still lead the country if he had enough games played to meet the minimum requirement. He will make his return to the lineup at the NAIA Championship.
 
• Matt Wyman leads the Saints with a .637 field goal percentage. His numbers are not enough to qualify for the NAIA Individual standings, but he would rank second.
 
• Steven Helm III leads the Saints with a .933 free throw shooting percentage, and Dane Warp is second with a .909 free throw percentage. Neither have enough attempts to qualify for the individual national rankings.
 
• Warp, a freshman, has scored in double digits in three of the last six games, including a 25-point performance against the University of Great Falls on Feb. 17.
 
• Wyman scored a career-high 28 points on 12-16 shooting from the field in the Frontier Conference Championship game.