CHANDLER, Ariz. - The No. 15-ranked Carroll Men's Basketball team dropped their first game of the 2025 Cactus Classic to No. 22 Benedictine-Mesa, 102-80 on Wednesday afternoon at the Coyote Center on the campus of Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

The newly-ranked Fighting Saints (8-2, 7-0), coming off a pair of 100-plus point performances, couldn't get things going offensively in their second loss of the season, falling to a talented Redhawk team who made their first appearance in the NAIA Top-25 in program history.

Wednesday's tournament-opener was an anomaly for the Carroll Men. For just the second time this season they were held below 48 percent from the floor, both instances leading to losses. It was an exceptionally poor shooting night for the Saints, as it was the third worst field goal percentage in Head Coach Dan Pearson's tenure (35.8 percent).

A tight game through the first ten minutes broke in favor of the Redhawks in a big way in the back half of the first. A 17-2 run for Benedictine-Mesa over a six-minute span broke the game open, and the Saints struggled to keep pace. The Redhawks extended their lead heading into the break, carrying a 50-32 advantage after the first 20.

Benedictine-Mesa had a response for anything the Saints threw at them in the second half, as Carroll would be unable to chip away at the lead, leading to their second setback of the year.

Drew Jones (Puyallup, Wash. / FR) led the charge for Carroll, finishing with a team-high 19 points, going 5-9 from the floor and 3-6 from range while Nate Christy (Spokane, Wash. / FR) finished with seven points and nine rebounds down low for the Saints.

The Saints will look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon, as they take on Embry-Riddle at 3 p.m.