HELENA, Mont. -- The No. 17-ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints clinched the No. 2 seed in the Frontier Conference after defeating No. 10-ranked Providence 89-81 to claim the regular season series on Thursday night in the PE Center. 

The Saints (21-8, 12-5 Frontier Conference) had big contributions from Dane Warp and Jovan Sljivancanin, who both scored 23 points, while Dennis Flowers III added 16 and Shamrock Campbell scored 11. The Saints as a team recorded 25 assists while turning the ball over just eight times. 

"It was the discipline they had not to force the shot and hit the guy that was open, filling right where they drove from," Saints coach Kurt Paulson said.  

The Saints grabbed a 45-40 lead at halftime and then battled tightly with Providence to open up the second half. 

It was Brendan Temple's three from the corner that gave the Saints a five-point cushion, which the Saints then turned into a seven point cushion after Sljivancanin converted another two. 

The Saints mostly kept that distance from the Argonauts the rest of the way, though the Argonauts cut it to two and four points on a few occasions. 

The Saints found a way to trip up Zach Darko-Kelly, the Frontier's leading scorer and three-time NAIA National Player of the Week. The star junior scored 19 points, but was forced into 12 turnovers by the Saints. 

"We're doing something different and it's working," Paulson said, keenly not detailing his game plan. "We're going to roll with it until it doesn't work. Our kids are buying in and they're flying around."

Carroll's win paired with Lewis-Clark State College's win over Rocky Mountain College on Thursday meant the Saints finished second to the Warriors in the Frontier Conference regular season. 

However, there's still plenty to play for. The Saints have a senior in Warp to celebrate with his Senior Night on Friday against Montana State-Northern.
 
"Those are two huge wins in a row for us," Warp said. "Tomorrow Northern is coming in and they're a good team. We're going to have to execute again tomorrow."

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the PE Center.