CHANDLER, Ariz. - The Carroll College Men's Basketball team saw their season come to a close in the First Round of the 2026 NAIA Men's Basketball Championship, falling 116-94 to seventh-seeded Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Friday afternoon at the Coyote Center in Chandler, Ariz.

Basketball is a game of runs, and the Fighting Saints (20-10, 17-5) came up one run short after battling back several times throughout a high-scoring First Round loss to the hot-shooting Pioneers (24-7, 16-6).

Things got away for the Saints right from the opening tip. Wayland Baptist opened the game on a 14-4 run over the first four minutes, capped with a breakaway steal and slam by Marcus Green. Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year Drew Jones (Puyallup, Wash. / SO) knocked down a pair of big threes, and Kellen Harrison (Bozeman, Mont. / SO) added another to help the Saints battle back within two just a minute-and-a-half later.

Carroll got within one, but the Pioneers blew the lead back into double digits in a hurry. Carroll was forced to respond, and Isaac Round (Northampton, England / SO) rattled-off seven straight points to help get back into striking distance.

The cat and mouse game continued, however, as the Pioneers managed to stretch-out yet another double-digit lead, this time a 15-point advantage with just four minutes left in the half. Jones continued his strong first half effort, knocking down another pair of three's while Isaiah Crane (Portland, Ore. / R-SO) began to heat up, and the Saints would trim the deficit to eight at the break, 53-45.

Jones was electric in the first 20 minutes, going 6-7 from the floor to lead all players with 20 points, while Crane came on late in the frame to finish the half with 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.

The Saints made a push coming out of the halftime break. Isaac Round buried a triple that pulled the Saints within one near the 17-minute mark. Two possessions later, an Isaiah Crane steal and score would give Carroll its first lead of the game with 16:54 left in the second half, 59-58.

From that point forward, the Pioneers steadily ran away with the game.

Wayland Baptist doubled their score over the final 17 minutes, scoring 58 points with big performances throughout the lineup. A 29-11 run spanning eight minutes of game time would prove to be insurmountable for the Saints, as WBU closed the door on any late comeback attempt.

Isaac Round was phenomenal in the second half, putting up 22 of his game-high 31 points, going 5-7 from beyond the arc, while also adding a game-high eight rebounds. Drew Jones finished with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Isaiah Crane finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.

Wayland Baptist will now move on to the Second Round where they will take on second-seeded Arizona Christian tomorrow evening at 4 p.m.