HELENA, Mont. – The fourth-ranked Carroll College men's basketball team used an 18-2 run to overcome a slow start to the second half and cruise to a 72-57 win over MSU-Northern Saturday night in the Frontier Conference semifinals at the PE Center in Helena. 

The win gives the Saints a shot at a Frontier Conference tournament championship Tuesday at the PE Center. The game will be a rematch of last year's title game which Lewis-Clark won 79-70 in Lewiston. The Warriors overcame a late deficit to defeat Montana Western 101-95 in overtime in Dillon. 

The Lights drew first blood Saturday, but senior All-American Zach Taylor got his team going early, he scored seven of Carroll's first nine points to help the Saints build an 11-5 lead. 

Northern battled back and tied the game at 13. The two teams would record five more ties over the remainder of the first half, but Carroll would lead 36-33 at the half. 

Northern came out hot in the second half and built a 41-36 lead with 16:55 to play. The Lights looked to be rolling, but the Saints stepped the defense, and the game changed course in a hurry. 

Carroll regained the lead on a three-pointer from Ife Kalejaiye with 14:04 left and built the lead to 54-43 before Northern scored again. A total of over seven minutes of game time. 

The Saints led by 17, 68-51 with 2:54 to play before Northern's Cameron Epps hit a pair of late threes to cut it to 70-57. It would be the too little, too late and the Saints would hold on for the 72-57 win. 

"It was a fantastic team defensive effort," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "It was fun to witness from the sideline. I think the guys are playing with a tremendous competitive fire on the defensive end. I think that set the tone for them to create a cushion in the second half."

Taylor's early surge led to a team-high 17 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Ryan Imhoff added 15 for the Saints and Dane Warp came off the bench to add 10. Six Saints score eight points or more in the win. 

Epps was the only Northern player in double figures. He finished with nine points on 5-9 shooting from the three-point line. 

Carroll was 27-46 (58.7 percent) from the field and 9-15 (60 percent) from the three-point line.

Northern was 23-57 (40.4 percent) from the field and 7-22 (31.8 percent) from the three-point line. 

Carroll outrebounded the Lights 30-23 and notched 15 assists to 11 for the MSUN.

Over 2,000 fans packed the PE Center the atmosphere was electric, especially considering the bulk of Carroll students had already departed for the Spring Break Holiday.

"We have awesome fans," Cunningham said. "Our students are on spring break and the local community made up for it big time. They showed up, they made themselves known, and they gave us a huge boost. We are grateful for it." 

The Saints now prepare to host a Lewis-Clark team that they defeated three times this season, all by a single possession and once in overtime. 

"We've seen them a lot, and we are both very familiar with each other," Cunningham said.  "They can score from a lot of different spots, they play at a tremendous pace and they are a handful. We know that it is going to be a mighty Challenge."

The Saints and Warriors tip off Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Carroll Athletics office will be open Sunday between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. stop by or call 406-447-4480 to purchase.