HELENA, Mont. -- The Carroll College Fighting Saints didn't have to wait long to make amends for one of their late-season losses.
Only this time the stakes are much higher.
A mere eight days after dropping the final game of the regular-season series to Montana Tech, the No. 9-ranked Saints (24-6) will get the Orediggers (17-14) back in their house on Saturday in the semifinals of the Frontier Conference Playoffs.
The Saints won the Frontier Conference regular-season championship and earned a bye in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Montana Tech, on the other hand, took full advantage of its second life in the postseason, and, for the first time this season, went on the road and posted a win over a conference opponent. The No. 6-seeded Orediggers defeated Rocky Mountain College in the quarterfinals in Billings, their first postseason win in 20 years.
Carroll went 2-1 against the Orediggers in the regular season, winning both games in the PE Center by an average margin of 13 points. And this time, the Saints have extra rest, while Tech will be playing its fourth game in eight days.
The Saints will be led into the postseason by
Match Burnham, who capped the regular season off with his fifth 30-point game of the season, scoring 33 against Rocky Mountain. Burnham is averaging 20 points per game.
Dane Warp (17.7 ppg) and
Ife Kalejaiye (12.8 ppg) join him in double figures on a nightly basis.
Freshmen
Shamrock Campbell and
Jovan Sljivancanin have given the Saints reliability as young starters. Campbell's held the job since the beginning of the season and ran the point, while Sljivancanin has come on late to replace the injured
Matt Wyman. Sljivancanin currently leads the Saints in rebounding, pulling down six boards per game.
Saints coach
Kurt Paulson said Wyman is day-to-day ahead of the semifinal. He has not played since Feb. 1.
The Orediggers will bring perhaps the most physical defense in the Frontier into the gym on Saturday. That physicality has led the defense to the No. 2 ranking in the Frontier after 30 games played this season.
The Saints counter with the best offense in the NAIA. The Saints are ranked No. 1 in three-point percentage (43), field-goal percentage (52) and free-throw percentage (81).
Saturday's semifinal tips off at 7 p.m.
