Men's Basketball | 12/15/20 | 4:56 PM

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HELENA, Mont. -- The No. 21-ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints are set to open up the Frontier Conference season with a road trip Butte to face Montana Tech.

It will be a return to the court for the Saints (2-1), who have not played since November 20. Montana Tech (0-2) last played on November 27. 

The game was postponed from its original December 5 and 6 dates and rescheduled for Wednesday to allow the teams to maximize the amount of conference games they could play, while respecting the conference's COVID-19 protocols. 

"We are ready to play games," Saints coach Kurt Paulson said. "It has been a long stretch without games and our kids want to play and show some improvement from our first three outings. We have worked on things and with a young group like we have we need game experience."

With Paulson's group coming off a 2019-20 season where they finished second in the conference and fell in the conference championship game, the expectations are high going into the 20-21 gauntlet. 

"We are focused on wins," Paulson said. "We have enough players with Frontier experience where we expect to win every game. We need to take care of the ball better, we are turning it over and not getting enough assists. That is a key area where we need improvement."

Entering the game, the Saints' offense is powered by juniors Jovan Sljivancanin and Shamrock Campbell, who are both averaging 17.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Dennis Flowers III also scores in double figures at 12 points per night. 

As a team, the Saints are No. 6 in the NAIA in total rebound defense at 28.3m while also possessing the No. 7 scoring defense at 61 points allowed per game. 

The Orediggers are led by Taylor England's 22 points per game. 
 
"Tech will be ready for us, they have had a lot of prep time and we need to take care of the ball and share it better and it will be a close game," Paulson said. "The game will come down to getting to the free throw line and rebounding."

Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Kelvin Sampson Court. 

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