HELENA, Mont. - With 2025 in the rear-view, the Carroll Basketball teams will look to begin the new year on the right foot, as they host Dakota State on Friday and Bellevue on Saturday with the Women tipping-off at 5 p.m. and the Men following at 7 p.m. both nights.

For the first time in nearly a month, the Fighting Saints will take to the PE Center court, both looking to bounce back from losses at the end of the Calandar year. First up in 2026 are the two easternmost Frontier teams in the Trojans and Bruins.

The Carroll Women suffered a pair of one-score setbacks at the Daytona Beach Shootout in their last action, and will have yet another Top-25 battle on their hands on Friday with the nation's No. 4-ranked Trojans.

The pair are plenty familiar, having sqaured-off at the NAIA WBB Championship final site in each of the last two visits for the Saints. Each team won one of those contests, with the Trojans ending Carroll's season in the round of 16 in 2022-23, and the Saints returning the favor in 2023-24 en route to their first semifinal appearance in program history. Carroll has a 2-1 advantage all time, having aso picked up a win over DSU in 2005.

The Bruins are a less familiar opponent, with Carroll owning a win in the lone other meeting between the two teams back in 2020.

Following a challenging non-conference slate, and some early tough competition, the Saints will look to build momentum through the Frontier slate, as they aim to once again return to the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship come March.

On the Men's side of the action, the Saints will look to further advance their program-best start to league play, entering the week tied atop the conference standings with a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play.

They'll take on the two other top teams in the standings this weekend, beginning with the 6-1 Trojans on Friday, followed by a potential showdown of unbeatens on Saturday night against the 7-0 Bruins.

Offensive efficiency will be a key should the Saints hope to remain unbeaten in Frontier play this weekend. In their two losses at the Cactus Classic last month, the Saints shot well below their season average (50.5 percent) from the field (35.8 percent, 42.1 percent). All three Carroll losses on the year have a direct correlation, as their lone other setback also saw them shoot under 43 percent.

Friday night's doubleheader will be broadcast live throughout Montana, Nothern Idaho, and Eastern Washington on SWX stations.

Catch Voice of the Saints, Stewart Davis, and Carroll Hall of Famer, Gary Turcott, call the action live on Rewind 94.9 FM locally, and online HERE.

Live streams and live stats for all four games can be found below:

DSU WBB STREAM | DSU WBB STATS
DSU MBB STREAM | DSU MBB STATS

BU WBB STREAM | BU WBB STATS
BU MBB STREAM | BU MBB STATS