HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College men's basketball team opens the bulk of Frontier Conference play with a pair of ranked opponents Thursday and Saturday at the PE Center. Carroll opens the weekend with No. 16 Montana Western before hosting No. 10 Lewis-Clark State Saturday.
 
The Saints are one of just four unbeaten teams in NAIA DI and the only unblemished team in the Frontier Conference. The slate gets tougher this weekend against the only other ranked teams in the league.
 
Western brings an 11-2 mark into the weekend and won four of their last five with the only losses coming against LCSC in the early December conference weekend and a 13-point loss to fifth-ranked The Master's in a neutral site game.
 
Lewis-Clark is 13-1, their only log came in a road game against the College of Idaho, but the Warriors are 2-0 in league after topping Western and Montana Tech in their early matchup. They first travel to Billings to face Rocky Mountain Thursday.
 
The Saints come into the weekend ranked first in the NAIA in field goal percentage (.581), free throw percentage (.817) and total steals (170). Carroll is also in the top five in three-point field goal percentage, steals per game, rebound defense and turnover margin.
 
Ryan Imhoff has racked up four Frontier Conference Player of the Week honors and leads Carroll in points (21.0), rebounds (6.0), assists (4.29), steals (2.86) and blocks (1.14). He also leads the Frontier in scoring and steals per game.
 
Matt Wyman is tops in the NAIA in field goal percentage at .730 and second on the team with 16.1 PPG. Match Burnham is right on his heels at 15.9 points per game.
 
Western brings in a talented team and is the only squad to earn two wins over the Saints last year. Dom Robinson was a second-team All-American a season ago and was the preseason Frontier Conference Player of the Year. He leads the Bulldogs with 18.15 PPG and averages over three three-pointers made per game. He is second in the Frontier wat 5.23 assists per game.
 
Four other players average double figures for the Bulldogs.
 
Saturday's test isn't any easier for the Saints. Lewis-Clark is fourth in the NAIA in field goal percentage, and they spread the ball around. Andre McCowan leads LCSC with 13.7 points per game, but five other Warriors are scoring in double figures. Head coach Brandon Rinta has tinkered with his lineup considerably during the non-conference. Ten different players have started games for the Warriors with only two, Race Martin and Trea Thomas starting all 15 games.
 
Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m. at the PE Center. Fans are encouraged to call ahead at 406-447-4480 or stop by for tickets as both games are expected to be near sellouts, and the line for walkup tickets will be long.
 
The game will be broadcast on 94.9 ESPN Montana and online at ESPNMontana.com. Live stats are available via Dakstats, and live video will be available on the Carroll youtube channel.