HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll Men's Basketball team dropped their Frontier Conference opener on Saturday, falling 83-78 to Providence at the Carroll College PE Center.

A rough night from range would spell trouble for the FIghting Saints (5-9) on Saturday, as the Argonauts (7-7) would escape with a road win to start conference play.

The first half the game was a true back and forth contest, with both teams exchanging the lead several times on quick scoring runs. Carroll began the game on a 5-0 run, however by the midway point of the half Providence would grow a lead as large as seven. The Saints would respond near the end of the half, taking a lead with around three minutes remaining, but an 8-2 run to end the half would give the Argos a 39-35 lead at the break.

Isaac Round (Northampton, England / FR) did the majority of the scoring for the Saints in the first half, finishing as the only player in double-digit scoring figures with 12 points. Jamil Bowles and Antoine Boyd Jr each scored nine to lead Providence in the opener.

With around 16 minutes remaining, an Isaiah Crane (Portland, Ore. / R-FR) three-pointer would knot the game at 45-45, but wouldn't find a way to get over the hump for the remainder of the game. By the midway point, Providence would stretch their lead back to nine, and with only five minutes remaining the lead would expand to as large as 13 points.

Trailing by 10 with just two minutes left, the Saints would make one final push. Carroll would cut the Argo lead to just two points with 13 seconds remaining, and would have to rely on fouls to extend the game. Antoine Boyd would miss the back end of one-and-one, with the Argos up by three, but Bowles would make the game-saving offensive rebound to ice the win for Providence.

Bowles was impressive, leading the Argos with 22 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the win, while Boyd added17 points and five boards.

Isaac Round, Isaiah Crane, and James Lang combined for 48 points, and were the only three Saints to reach double-digit scoring figures, led by Round's 19 points and eight rebounds.

As a team, Carroll shut just 39 percent from the floor, while Providence finished with 49 percent shooting night to pick up the conference-opening win.

The Carroll Men will now head to Dillon to take on Montana Western on Thursday evening at 7 p.,m.

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

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