LEWISTON, Idaho -- The Carroll College Men's Basketball team tipped off at the NAIA National Tournament Friday evening, defeating Texas Wesleyan by a final score 85-58.

In the first half, the Saints and the Rams went back and forth most of the way. Texas Wesleyan did a great job limiting the Saints offensively. With a little over three minutes left in the first half, Carroll led 30-29. In the blink of an eye, the Saints' offense erupted and the lead was extended to 39-29.

Carroll took a 41-33 lead into half time after the teams exchanged a couple buckets in the final minute of the half.

Then Texas Wesleyan grabbed the momentum, starting the second half on a 6-0 run. 

From there on out, it was all Carroll. The Saints put together a defensive masterpiece and played selfless basketball on the offensive end to coast to an 85-58 victory.

It was an excellent showing yet again from Junior Forward Jovan Sljivancanin, from Belgrade, Serbia, who finished with a game high 17 points as well as 12 rebounds and 6 assists. 

The Rams were led by Vydal Bradford, a senior from Fairfield, Calif., who scored a team high 16 points.

With this win, the Saints will move on to Saturday to play the top seed in their pod, Arizona Christian. Arizona Christian had an outstanding season, finishing with a record of 24-2, including a 10-0 conference record. They are entering the tournament on an 11-game winning streak. 

Saturday's game between Carroll and Arizona Christian will be played at 3:30 p.m. MST. The winner of the game will punch their ticket to Kansas City, where the final 16 teams will battle for a National Championship.

You can listen to all Carroll National Tournament action on Rewind 94.9 FM and online at https://network1sports.com/station/espnradio. Voice of the Saints, Daniel Salle, and Hall of Fame Coach Gary Turcott will be on the call.

This weekend's games can also be found online at https://lcwarriors.com/watch/?Live=196&type=Live

The NAIA National Basketball Tournament is sponsored by Ballogy.

For more information on this weekend's action in Lewiston, visit here: https://lcwarriors.com/sports/2021/3/8/naia-basketball-opening-rounds-central.aspx