HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll Men's Basketball team took care of business on Saturday, picking up a 77-70 win over Rocky Mountain College in front of an energetic crowd at the PE Center.

The Fighting Saints (13-8, 7-2) went wire-to-wire for a big time win over the Battlin' Bears (11-11, 2-7) that could have large postseason ramifications come tournament time.

With a jam-packed student section supporting them, the Saints built a 14-point lead over the opening 12 minutes. Derek Kramer (Bellevue, Wash. / SO) and Isaiah Moore (Fairfield, Calif. / SO) provided an instant spark off of the bench, combining for 13 points in a promising bounce-back half following Thursday's loss at Montana Tech.

As a whole, the Saints shot 57 percent from the floor in the opening half, including five points from James Lang (Portland, Ore. / R-SO) in his first action since an ankle injury forced him to miss the last three games.

14 points on four three-pointers from Rocky's Luca Brooks would keep the Bears within reach, but Carroll would hold a comfortable 44-30 lead at the break.

Carroll would hover around an 18-point lead for the majority of the second, but Rocky would go on to out-shoot the Saints by a fair margin the second half (RMC 46 percent, CC 38 percent) and saw a combined 24 second half points from Jesse Owens and AJ Wilson to help whittle the Carroll lead down.

A late Rocky run spurred mainly by free throws and timely shots would trim the lead down to as little as eight points, but some clutch defensive efforts from Kramer, protecting the paint, paired with Lang's timely rebounding would help the Saints lock up the second win of the season over the Bears from Billings.

Kendall Moore (Billings, Mont. / JR) has established himself as one of the top guards in the league, leading Carroll in scoring with 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Andrew Cook was held in check for the majority of the game, but still posted 14 points alongside a team-high nine rebounds.

James Lang finished with 12 points and seven boards in his return to the starting five, while Derek Kramer had arguably the best performance of the night with his eight points and seven boards.

Brooks led the Bears with 19 points, while Owens and Wilson each scored 17.

A road test at the Armory in Havre is next on the docket for the Saints, who will square off with MSU-Northern for the second time this season next Thursday.

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