BUTTE, Mont. - The Carroll Men's Basketball team dropped their semifinal of the 2026 Frontier Conference Championship to MSU-Northern on Sunday night, falling 80-76 at the Butte Civic Center.

The Fighting Saints (20-9, 17-5), were on the wrong end of a second-half comeback on Sunday, one day removed from their 17-point come-from-behind win in the quarterfinals.

Following a relatively quiet Quarterfinal performance, second team All-Frontier guard Isaac Round (Northampton, England / SO) got off to a quick start on Sunday. Round scored eight of Carroll's first 14 points, in a clear rhythm early.

A good early start for Carroll slowed considerably as the half wore on, as the Saints led by just two at the midway point of the opening frame. Freshman Nate Christy (Spokane, Wash. / FR) helped spark a run with four quick points.

The Saints are always at their best when they turn defense into offense, and they did just that at the 8-minute mark. Frontier All-Defensive team selection, Kellen Harrison (Bozeman, Mont. / SO) scrambled for nearly the entirety of the shot clock, shutting down several potential three-point looks for the Lights, and Isaiah Crane (Portland, Ore. / R-SO) capitalized with a steal and score.

The easy two got the league's top scoring threat rolling, and he followed it up with a straight-away triple to grow the Carroll lead to 12. Another Crane transition three just minutes later extending the Saints' advantage to a game-high 17 points. The Lights got things going late thanks to strong work on the offensive glass, however,  trimming the Saints' lead to just 11 at the break, 40-29.

Crane, the Frontier Conference Player of the Year, showed the honor was well-deserved in the first half. He led all players with 16 points and nearly ended the frame with a double-double, pulling down eight boards. Down low, Nate Christy was highly-efficient, going 4-5 from the floor in a 10-point, five-rebound effort.
The Saints shot 50 percent (17-34) in the half, and held Northern to just 34 percent on the defensive end (11-32).
 
Northern came out of the halftime break looking to get back into it, and did so quickly. The Lights started the second half on an 8-3 run over the first three minutes, and momentum seemed to be building. Turnovers and wasted possessions plagued the Saints, and the lead continued to shrink to just four points at the first media timeout.

Carroll struggled to come up with stops throughout the second half. Eventually, the Lights evened things up at 61-61 with six minutes to go, and took their first lead on an and-one finish by Raefe McEnroe.

For the next five minutes of game time, both teams went back-and-forth, exchanging several different leads, with neither able to create much separation. Every time it appeared one side was prepped to break away, the other would have a response.
 
Trailing by two with 1:17 remaining, Kellen Harrison (Bozeman, Mont. / SO) came away with an impressive steal and score, knotting things up at 76-76 and bringing life to the Carroll bench and crowd. However, that would be the end of the Carroll scoring.

The Saints couldn't come away with a rebound on a corner three attempt by the Lights with 18 seconds left. Northern's Austin Ramos swooped in for a putback attempt, was fouled in the process, and knocked down a pair to go up by two.

Crane tried to respond, but his final attempt would rattle around and fall into the hands of Christy, who was fouled with seven seconds left. Christy's first free throw came up just short, and the Saints elected to try an intentional miss on the second to get one last look from the field. Northern managed to secure the rebound, and a pair of free throws later punched their ticket to the NAIA Tournament.

All said and done, five different Saints finished with 10 or more points in the loss, led by Crane's 20-point, nine-rebound night. Christy finished with 15 points and nine boards, Jones added 13, Round finished with 12, and Kellen Harrison rounded things out with 10 points.

With regular season champion Rocky having already secured their spot in tomorrow's championship, the Frontier's second auto-bid will go to the Lights regardless of tomorrow's result. 

Carroll remains firmly in contention for an at-large selection to the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship, and will now wait to hear their seeding information during the NAIA Selection Show on Thursday evening.