WATCH | LISTEN | STATS | GAME NOTES

HELENA, Mont. -- The No. 4 Carroll College Fighting Saints will look to stave off challengers to their top spot in the Frontier Conference this week as they host No. 16 Lewis-Clark State College (16-4, 5-3) and Montana Western (7-12, 1-7) on Thursday and Saturday. 

"We haven't played for a week," Saints coach Kurt Paulson said. "For awhile there we had four games in seven days, so we had a week off. It was nice for our guys to get their legs back under them."

When the Saints meet Lewis-Clark State on Thursday, the matchup will feature the two hottest teams in the Frontier Conference. Carroll has won its past four games, while the Warriors enter with a three-game winning streak. Round One of the teams' matchup this season went to the Saints on Jan. 10 (84-78) and if the Saints look to keep their perch atop the rankings, another win will be imperative. 

"They are a deep team and we have to use our timeouts wisely to combat that depth," Paulson said.  

LCSC rolls out four players that average 10 or more points per game. Dana Abe leads the pack with 14 a night, followed by Damek Mitchell (12.8), Cory Dollarhide (12.3) and Race Martin (10.7). 

The game will feature the NAIA's top two field goal shooting teams. Carroll is No. 1 at 54 percent while LCSC is close behind at 53 percent.

Senior Match Burnham leads the Frontier Conference with 20 points per game. In addition to Burnham's scoring, Carroll guards Matt Wyman (18.4) and Dane Warp (18.2) also nearly average 20 points per game. Senior guard Ife Kalejaiye averages 12 points per game. 

After Carroll defeated Rocky Mountain in Billings last week, the Saints secured at least one win over every Frontier Conference opponent this season. 

Saturday, the Saints take on Western, who nearly pulled off a stunner against Providence a week ago. Carroll defeated the Bulldogs in Dillon 91-78. 

Carroll tips off against LCSC on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.