HELENA, Mont. --
Match Burnham scored a game-high 26 points and the No. 22 Carroll College Saints defeated Montana State-Northern 91-76 on Saturday in the PE Center.
The win gave the Saints a 2-0 start in conference and kept their unbeaten streak alive at 11-0.
"That's a team that runs very good stuff and has very good players," Saints coach
Kurt Paulson said. "They wear on you for 40 minutes in the half court."
Northern went tit-for-tat with Carroll in the opening frame, battling back at the end of the half to tie the game at 45.
Carroll cranked up its defense in the second half, holding the Lights to 31 points.
"We turned up a little bit of the pressure," Paulson said. "We sped them up and I thought they took a few quick shots and we rebounded it and raced out and got to the free throw line. That's where we separated."
Carroll knocked down 25-of-28 free throws, led by Burnham's perfect 9-for-9 night at the stripe.
Joining the senior from Spangle, Washington, in double figures were
Dane Warp (19),
Shamrock Campbell (16)
Matt Wyman (double-double 15, 10 rebounds) and
Jovan Sljivancanin (12).
While the Saints have become accustomed to Burnham, Warp and Wyman stuffing the stat sheet this season, the freshmen have proved to be just as consistent.
"That's pretty impressive," Paulson said of his freshmen's contributions. "They're both freshmen. They're great students. They're great people. The guys love them."
Carroll built an 11-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Northern battled back. The Lights cut it down to three points with six minutes to go, but the Saints used a pair of
Brad King free throws and a three by Sljivancanin to make it a three-possession game.
Northern's offensive execution withered in the final five minutes as the Saints' lead ballooned to double figures.
Carroll shot 55 percent from the field, 75 percent from the three-point line and 90 percent from the foul line.
Up next, the Saints travel to Canada for a pair of games against the University of Calgary on Dec. 6 and 7.
NOTES: In just 10 games this season, Warp has scored more points than he did in 31 games last season… The Saints' 11-0 starts is one of the best in school history… Last season's team started 15-0.