HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College Men's Basketball team couldn't keep hold of a halftime advantage, dropping their first Frontier Conference game of the season to No. 7 Montana Tech, 88-77 on Saturday afternoon at the PE Center.

The Fighting Saints (8-8, 2-1), stumbled down the stretch, allowing the Orediggers (13-3, 3-0) to comeback and grab the early series advantage on the year.

Montana Tech was hot from three point-range in the early minutes of the game, with a Caleb Bellach three pointer giving Tech an early 11-4 lead.

Carroll was able to settle in to the game as the half progressed, and would manage to keep within striking distance. With four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the opening frame, the Saints would grab their first lead since the opening seconds on an Andrew Cook (Huntington Beach, Calif. / JR) layup.

A pair of Kendall Moore (Dayton, Ohio / JR) three pointers, and some tough baskets by Cook down the stretch would see Carroll take an eight point lead into the break, 41-38.

The Saints would briefly expand their lead to 10 points early in the second half, but a quick run by the Orediggers would see the advantage disappear by the 15-minute mark.

With 10 minutes remaining, the score was tied at 58-58. Tech would go on an 18-10 run over the next five minutes, and the Saints would be unable to recover. 

Facing a four-possession deficit, Carroll would look for three pointers to try and climb back to even, but the shots simply wouldn't fall and Tech would go on to close out the comeback victory, 88-77.

Andrew Cook led all scorers, finishing with 25 points alongside five rebounds and five assists. Kendall Moore added 19 points before fouling out in the second half, and Shaheed Muhammad (Arden Hills, Minn. / JR) made some clutch shots in an 11 point effort to round out the top three for Carroll.

Caleb Bellach scored 19 points, and led a group of five different Orediggers to score in double digits. 

Carroll moves to 0-6 in games in which they allowed 80 points or more on the season.

The Saints will look to rebound on Thursday when they take on No. 15 Rocky Mountain College at the Fortin Center in Billings.

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