HAVRE, Mont. - The Carroll Men's Basketball team moved one step closer to locking up a top seed in the upcoming Frontier Conference Tournament with a 69-65 win over MSU-Northern on Thursday evening.

Things are really starting to come together for the Fighting Saints (14-9, 8-2). They emerged victorious in what is annually one of the more difficult trips of the season, a trip to Havre for a scrap with the Lights (10-13, 2-8), and are trending in the right direction as the season winds down.

A quick start for the Saints saw them jump out to a seven point lead featuring production throughout the lineup at the first media timeout, 17-10. Things would change in a hurry, however, as a tough Northern side responded with an impressive 24-6 run spanning nearly 10-minutes of game time to grab their largest lead at 11 points. A small response from the Saints would narrow the margin, but Northern would take a 39-33 lead into the half.

Andrew Cook (Huntington Beach, Calif. / JR) was held mostly in-check in the first half, scoring six points to match his teammate Murat Guzelocak (Istanbul, Turkey / SR) to lead Carroll at the break.

A steady pressure by the Saints over the first ten minutes of the second half would see Carroll pull within one, but seemingly time-and-time again, Northern would find a way to hold on to their lead.

After a half of cat-and-mouse, Carroll finally found the upper-hand at the 7:38 mark with a Cook bucket to regain the lead for the first time since early in the first half. 

Five lead changes would ensue over the next five minutes, but some timely baskets by the Moore's, Isaiah (Fairfield, Calif. / SO) and Kendall (Dayton, Ohio / JR), down the stretch would help Carroll pull away as the clock wound down.

A pair of free throws by Cook put the cap on the gritty comeback win, and Carroll walked out with the 69-65 win.

Cook led his team in scoring once again, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Isaiah Moore had arguably his best night of the season, adding 11 points, with the majority coming at clutch moments.

The frontcourt tandem of Murat Guzelocak and Derek Kramer (Bellevue, Wash. / SO) combined for 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Zackry Martinez led all scorers, finishing with a game-high 23 points in the loss for Northern.

Carroll will now shift all focus towards a crucial final matchup of the season with Montana Western at the PE Center on Saturday that could very well lock up the Saints as at least an opening round bye in the Frontier Conference Tournament later this month.

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