HELENA, Mont. -- At times it was a masterpiece.

Others, a small disaster. 

But no matter what way the momentum turned on Saturday, the No. 17-ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints persevered and fought off the No. 10-ranked Providence Argonauts in the semifinals of the Frontier Conference Tournament, winning 69-65 on Friday. 

In a nearly unbelievable cold stretch, neither team made a field goal from the 3:33 mark until the final 19 seconds. 

"It was kind of a defensive struggle," Saints coach Kurt Paulson said. "Providence gets it in the 80s and 90s and we like to play fast at times too. Our defense down the stretch was key. We had a lot of mistakes. I think our youth showed tonight. We had some charges and some missed free throws, plays you really need to win. We made just enough plays to win."

The Saints (24-8) nursed a two-possession lead until Jacob Wetzel hit a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to bring the score to 67-65. 
 
Dennis Flowers III split a pair of free-throws to give the Saints a 68-65 lead. 

A steal by Dane Warp looked to seal the game with seven seconds left.

The Saints called two timeouts, one to secure the possession and another to save a five-second call, but then a charging foul on Shamrock Campbell gave the ball back to Providence with seven seconds left. 

Zaccheus Darko-Kelly missed a three off the inbound pass and Jovan Sljivancanin corralled the rebound, sinking one of two free throws to seal it. 

"These kids are very confident," Paulson said. "Sometimes you have to play through growing pains like we did tonight. Providence is great. It was a tough opponent, which is why we didn't look our best, but we made the plays when it counted."

Shamrock Campbell had a game-high 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field and 3-for-6 shooting from deep. 

Warp added 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals. 

Ifeanyi Okeke was the only other Saint in double figures with 11 points and six rebounds. 

Carroll shot 38.7% from the field, 32% from deep and 76% from the foul line. 

The Saints held Providence (24-8) to 40 percent from the field and 21% from deep.

Jaxen Hashley led the Argos in scoring with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Saints will face No. 7-ranked Lewis-Clark State College in the Frontier Championship on Monday in Lewiston, Idaho. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. MST. 

The Saints previously defeated LCSC in Lewiston 68-57 on February 22.