HELENA, Mont. -- Dane Warp had a game-high 26 points and Jovan Sljivancanin added 21 points and 16 rebounds as Carroll College Fighting Saints took down previously undefeated Lewis-Clark State College, the No. 14-ranked team in the NAIA, on Friday in the PE Center. 

Trailing 35-33 with 1:28 left in the first half, the Saints (6-2, 2-0 Frontier Conference) went on a run, ignited by a Dennis Flowers III three-pointer. The freshman knocked down the three-ball and then fellow frosh Jonny Hillman jumped a passing lane, stole the ball and went the distance to score a layup. Within 15 seconds, the Saints held a three-point lead. 

A Lewis-Clark State (9-1, 0-1) turnover gave the Saints the final possession. Sljivancanin pulled up for a three-pointer and nailed it to give the Saints the momentum and cushion they needed to fight through the second half, leading 41-36. 

"These guys are thrown to the wolves, especially in the conference right away," Saints coach Kurt Paulson said. "I think our preseason schedule… we took a couple of hard losses down in California that prepared us for these hard-fought, physical conference games. The freshmen guys are stepping up. There's too many to name. Every time I look up we have two or three freshmen, which is crazy. They're stepping up and maturing very quickly."

The Saints never wilted in the second half. Carroll held a two-possession lead for all but a few minutes in the second half, finding ways to create mismatches and punish LCSC's defense. 

The chief culprit was Sljivancanin, who bullied smaller defenders and blew by LCSC's slower players. The sophomore Serbian and reigning conference player of the week attacked LCSC all night.

"He's such a tough mismatch," Paulson said. "He was too quick for their fours and fives. He's gaining all of his teammates' confidence daily. They know when to throw him the ball in crunch time. He stepped up big tonight for us when we needed him."

Warp, too, steadied the Saints' offense. The senior attacked the paint and either finished or drew fouls to keep the Warriors at bay.  

"Dane got to the free-throw line," Paulson said. He got there seven times, made six and that's what we needed."  

Flowers III also joined Warp and Sljivancanin in double-figures, added 15 points, including his late-in-the-half buckets to give the Saints a boost. 

The Saints will rely on everybody's efforts to continue growing in a very difficult Frontier Conference. 

Coaches around the Frontier Conference saw the Saints in the middle of the road during the preseason. After the first week of conference play, the Saints knocked off two of the Frontier's toughest opponents. There will be plenty of road challenges during the long conference season, but the Saints made the most of their opening schedule, going 2-0 and defeating a Top 15 nationally ranked team. 

The Saints exhale from conference play for a month and jump back into nonconference action. Next up is a trip down to Chandler, Arizona, for the Cactus Classic from Dec. 14-17.