GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Carroll College Men's Basketball team opened their season with an 89-77 loss to (RV) Ottawa (Ariz.) on Friday afternoon at the Fultz Memorial Classic in Glendale.

The Fighting Saints (0-1) saw a late push come up short, falling to the Spirit (1-0) to begin the year.

Carroll found themselves in a hole after the first half of play. OUAZ, behind a 50 percent effort as a team from the three-point line, would carry a 48-36 lead into the halftime break.

One big factor in the 12-point Spirit lead at the break was Bryce Fitzgerald's 17 first half points. Fitzgerald went 3-4 from behind the arc, and was the only OUAZ player to put up double-digit points in the opening frame.

Andrew Cook (Huntington Beach, Calif. / JR) picked up right where he left off, scoring 11 first half points for the Saints.

OUAZ's lead would stretch to as large as 14 points in the second half, but the Saints would begin to chip away. Halfway through the second frame. a Shaheed Muhammad (Arbor Hills, Minn. / JR) three pointer would cut the lead to just three points.

The three point differential would be as close as the game would get, however, and Ottawa would go on another run over the final ten minutes to win the game 89-77.

Cook posted 10 second half points to bring his total to a team-high 21 for the game, in addition to pulling down six rebounds.

Gui Pedra (Sao Paulo, Brazil / SR) had a good showing in the opener to his senior campaign. Pedra scored 15 points on 50 percent shooting fom the field, and Kendall Moore (Dayton, Ohio / JR) added another 13 points to round out the Carroll double-digit scorers.

Five players for the Spirit finished with double-digit scoring figures, led by Fitzgerald's game-high 24 point performance.

The Saints out-rebounded the spirit 32-28 in the game, but 16 total Carroll turnovers led to 17 OUAZ points.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field (Carroll 52.5%. OUAZ 55.2%).

Carroll will have a quick turnaround, as they now turn around and play No. 3 Arizona Christian tomorrow at 3 p.m. (MST) in the final game of the event.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com for a recap of that game, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.