Men's Basketball | 03/15/24 | 9:34 AM

HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College Basketball teams will both begin their pursuit of the 2023-2024 NAIA Basketball Championship this evening with First Round play - presented by Ballogy kicking off tonight. The Carroll Men will be in Caldwell, Idaho for a 5 p.m. game against Cornerstone (Mich.), while the Women will have home court advantage at the Carroll College PE Center for their 7:30 p.m. tip against Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).

The Carroll Men (19-11, 12-3) are back in the NAIA MBB Championship, one year removed from a highly successful string of tournament runs. The Fighting Saints earned a No. 9-seed for the 64-team national tournament, and will sqaure off with No. 8-seed Cornerstone at the J.A. Albertson Activity Center in Caldwell, Idaho - hosted by No. 3 College of Idaho.

A tremendous back half of the season propelled the Saints into the tournament. Led by Frontier Conference Player of the Year, Andrew Cook (Huntington Beach, Calif. / JR), a team with new faces across the board began to gel in the month of December en route to a second-place finish in the Frontier Conference and an at-large bid to the big dance.

The Saints found their stride defensively once Frontier play began in early January. A shift in focus from trying to score with every team, to trying to shut down every team helped start the postseason push. Carroll enters the tournament with a 15-2 record when holding opponents under 80 points, but just a 4-9 record when allowing more than 80 points.

They'll have their hands full on Friday as they try to slow down the NAIA's No. 16 scoring offense from Cornerstone, who average over 87 points per contest.

The Golden Eagles, Champions of the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference, have one of the best big men in the country in Cory Ainsworth. The 6-9 center was named First Team All-WHAC and the league's Defensive Player of the Year, entering the postseason averaging 19.3 points per game with 62 total blocks.

Slowing Ainsworth down, and getting their own First Team All-Leaguer, Cook, rolling will be the biggest priority for the Saints on Friday. 

The Carroll Women (24-5, 14-1) have a much different setting for their First Round matchup. The Nation's No. 6-ranked team earned a No. 2-seed for the Championship field, and will play a No. 15-seed Embry-Riddle team that they have already beaten once this season on their home floor in front of what should be a large and raucous Carroll crowd.

In early November, Carroll beat the Eagles in Prescott, Ariz. 61-46 to kick start a seven game win-streak in non-conference play. Not often do teams get to play national tournament games on their home court, and even less often teams get to play a prior opponent to start the event. 

The Saints have been one of the NAIA's best for a number of years now, consistently having been ranked inside the top-25 dating back to 2017. They are no stranger to the big dance, and this year have a heightened sense of urgency in trying to chase down the program's first National Championship. Back-to-back Frontier Player of the Year, Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / GR), along with Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / GR) and Erica Nessan (Spokane, Wash. / GR) will all have one final shot at hoisting the trophy and rasing a red banner following their outstanding careers.

Embry-Riddle on the other side is in the beginnings of what they hope will grow into a run of equal success. The Eagles won the Cal Pac Conference Tournament last week, and punched their ticket to the tournament for the first time in program history.

Tip-off for the Men's game in Caldwell is slated for 5 p.m., and a pay-per-view stream is available HERE.

Tune into Rewind 94.9 FM or online HERE to listen to Stewart Davis call the action live from courtside at the Albertson Center, or follow along with live stats HERE.

Tip-off from the PE Center for the Women's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast throughout Montana on SWX stations, and a simulcast will run on the Fighting Saints Network - presented by Point S Tire & Auto Service.

Catch Voice of the Saints, Nick Dietzen, and Carroll Hall of Famer, Gary Turcott, call the action live on Rewind 94.9 FM or online HERE, immediately following the Men's broadcast.

Live stats can be followed along HERE.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com this evening for a full recap of both games, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.