HAVRE, Mont. - The (RV) Carroll Men's Basketball team suffered their second Frontier Conference setback of the 2025-26 season on Friday night, falling 89-73 to MSU-Northern at the Armory Gymnasium.

The Fighting Saints (12-5, 10-2) simply ran into a buzz saw on Friday night, as a hot-shooting MSU-Northern team capitalized on an abundance of Carroll mistakes to end a seven-game Saints win streak in the series.

Carroll's troubles began early, as they led only twice in the game - once in the first ten seconds on a quick steal and bucket by Lorence Dela Cruz (Winnipeg, Manitoba / SR), and a final time at the 13-minute mark on a Drew Jones (Puyallup, Wash. / FR) elbow jumper. From that point on, the Lights took complete control and never looked back.

Playing without leading rebounder Nate Christy (Spokane, Wash. / FR), who is temporarily sidelined with an injury, the Saints were heavily out-rebounded in the opening frame. MSU-Northern pulled down 17 boards to Carroll's 10, and turned the opportunities into points on the offensive end.

The Lights shot 62 percent from the floor in the first half, and a scorching 58 percent from three-point range to help build a 16-point lead at the break. Leon Sayers IV and Cinque Maxwell combined for 27 points, while the Saints shot just 38 percent and a meager 9 percent from three (1-11) to give the home team a 46-30 lead after one.

The shooting disparity leveled-out in the second half, with both teams shooting near 50 percent from the field and range, but Carroll couldn't seem to make a dent in the Northern lead. The Lights' lead would balloon to 22-points at its largest, and just 14 at its smallest in the second frame, as the Saints simply couldn't find stops on the defensive end. Every Carroll advance was met with resistance, and despite a 13-point second half effort from Isaiah Crane (Portland, Ore. / R-SO), the Saints would come up short, 89-73.

The uncharacteristically bad shooting night for Carroll saw just two players score in double figures, led by Drew Jones' 23-points and Crane's 18 points.

Carroll remains at the top of the Frontier standings, albeit now in a three-way tie with Bellevue and Rocky Mountain College at 9-2.

The Saints will look to rebound tomorrow night, as they take on Providence for the first time this season at 7 p.m. inside the McLaughlin Center to wrap up the first lap of Frontier play.