HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll Men's Basketball team fell 84-79, pushing the nation's No. 6-ranked team Arizona Christian to the limit in an overtime loss on Monday night at the PE Center.

The Fighting Saints (2-1) made the Firestorm (4-0) work for every minute of the game, showing they're capable of competing with anyone in the NAIA.

Seeking their second-straight ranked-win, the Carroll Men were suffocating in the first half. The Saints disrupted everything the Firestorm tried to do offensively, and held the No. 6 team in the NAIA to just 29 points in the opening frame.

Derek Kramer (Bellevue, Wash. / JR) was far and away the best player on the floor in the opening 20, nearly posting a double-double (12 points, 7 rebounds) in 18 minutes of work. Seven of the eight Saints who saw the court in the first half scored at least four points, and their balanced attack saw them enter the halftime break with a 36-29 lead.

The second half saw Carroll grow their lead to as large as 15 points following an Isaiah Crane (Portland, Ore. / R-FR) layup with 11 minutes remaining in the game.

Arizona Christian upped the pressure in the second half, playing full-court defense on every possession that would lead to several Carroll turnovers, while hitting multiple transition three's to cut into the Saints' lead. 

The Saints were on the wrong-end of several important calls down the stretch by the officials, and by the 1:00 minute mark, ACU had trimmed the Carroll lead to five. 

A five-second violation was called with the Saints up two in the closing seconds, and the Firestorm would capitalize. Taveon Pierre-Louis made a shot with just two seconds left on the clock following the turnover, tying the game at 69-69. Crane got a half-decent look at the buzzer, but his game-winning attempt would hit the iron to send the game to overtime.

Missed free throws and good looks that couldn't seem to find the bottom of the net were the story of the overtime period, as the wear and tear of the third game in four days appeared to take its toll on a short-handed Carroll team.

Arizona Christian went 8-8 from the free throw line in the overtime period, closing out any chance at a Carroll comeback, closing out the win, 84-79.

Derek Kramer had an extremely impressive showing, posting a 17 point, 17 rebound double-double in arguably the best performance of his career.

Isaiah Crane also posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, the first of his career.

All five Carroll starters finished with double-digit points, but the team struggled from the floor in a 33 percent shooting night as a whole.

Trent Hudgens finished with a game-high 20 points for the Firestorm, while Ese Onakpoma added 19 in the win.

Up next, the Saints will host the Delta Marriott Classic this weekend, taking on a pair of CCC schools in Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon.

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

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