HELENA, Mont. -- The No. 23-ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints exploded in the second half to run by the SAIT Trojans 91-53 on the first day of the Carroll Classic in the PE Center on Friday evening.
Four Saints (9-3) reached double figures, led by
Dane Warp's double-double of 24 points and 10 assists.
Jovan Sljivancanin added 17 points and nine rebounds, while
Ifeanyi Okeke dropped a career-high 14 points and seven rebounds and
Sayer Patton scored a career-high 13 points.
In Saints' coach
Kurt Paulson's eyes, it looked like Christmas break extended a little longer for the Fighting Saints men's basketball team. The Saints scored 34 points in a turnover-prone first half, before rolling off 57 points in the second.
"These guys are young," Paulson said. "At halftime, I said we got the Christmas break out of our system. Now we can take care of the ball and move and play our game. They did that."
Warp knocked down a pair of threes to open the game, and then another two to open the second half, finishing the game shooting 6-for-10 from beyond the arc.
It sparked a 20-5 run by the Saints, who put SAIT in the rearview mirror early in the second half and didn't let off the gas.
SAIT had a pair of double-digit scorers in Taliik Ross with 14 and Charlie Conner's 13.
The Saints once again displayed their free-flowing offense, the formula they found in Phoenix, Arizona, that has now led to a third consecutive win. Eight Saints scored while nine saw action against the Trojans.
Carroll shot 55 percent from the field, including a staggering 64 percent during the second half. The Saints shot 41 percent from deep and 88 percent from the free-throw line.
On the flip side, Carroll held SAIT to 30 percent shooting from the field, and 35 percent from deep.
Carroll will look to keep its offense rolling against on Saturday, as the Saints face Walla Walla to conclude the Carroll Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Montana Tech defeated Walla Walla 84-64 earlier on Friday.
The game will be broadcast on Carroll Athletic's YouTube page.
