HELENA, Mont. - In a monumental early-season bout, the Carroll Men's Basketball team will play host to reigning NAIA Champion, and Preseason No. 1 College of Idaho tonight a 6 p.m. in the Carroll College PE Center.

November 1. Number 1

The opportunity doesn't get much bigger this early in the year for the Fighting Saints (1-0), as they get their shot at taking down the NAIA's top-ranked Yotes (0-0).

For a young team looking to build off the success in the back-half of the 2024-25 season, Saturday night presents a prime opportunity for the Saints to figure out exactly where they stack up.

While nearly every Carroll team currently in-season has a scheduled game this evening (VB, WSOC, MSOC, FB), the Men's Basketball team are the lone show in town - hosting the only home game on a busy Saturday slate.

Saturday night's 6 p.m. matchup will mark the second straight year that Carroll and College of Idaho have met. Last November, the Saints made a trip to Caldwell near Thanksgiving, eventually losing 65-84 to the eventual National Champion.

That team was much different than the current group, however. It was only the seventh game of Head Coach Dan Pearson's tenure, with a slew of new faces all figuring out their respective roles.

Carroll has reason for confidence heading into the game this season, coming off an impressive 96-82 win over St. Thomas in their season-opener last weekend in Helena. 

The Saints were named the NAIA Hoops Report Offense of the Week following their impressive first outing of the year. They shot a near-unheard of 64.9 percent from the floor as a team in the win, including a 72 percent clip in the second half to close out the win.

Last year's Frontier Conference leading scorer, Isaiah Crane (Portland, Ore. / R-SO) was extremely efficient in the win - knocking down 10 of his 11 shots (91 percent) en route to a game-high 26 points.

Kellen Harrison (Bozeman, Mont. / SO) was another bright spot in the opener, earning Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors with nine defensive boards, a steal and a block, in his 18-point, 10-rebound double-double.

The Yotes have yet to play an official game, with their lone contest being an exhibition loss against NCAA Division I Wyoming last week.

Carroll's up-tempo offense will look to put stress on a College of Idaho defense that allowed only 62.9 points per game last season.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the PE Center. A live stream can be found HERE, and live stats can be followed HERE.