BUTTE, Mont. – A pair of Top-25 teams put on a defensive clinic in the HPER Center, as No. 10 Carroll College grinded out a 59-51 victory over No. 24 College of Idaho in the Montana Tech Fall Classic.
The Yotes (3-1) held their fourth-straight opponent to 60-points or less, but the Saints held the Gem State squad to 27-percent shooting in the second half to remain unbeaten on the young season.
Shamrock Campbell had 18 points and Jovan Sljivancanin had 17 for the Saints (7-0) – who used an 11-0 run in the first seven minutes of the game to take an 11-2 lead.
C of I rallied, as
Ricardo Time and
Charles Elzie canned 3s, cutting the margin to 17-15 – with a second Elzie triple pulling the Yotes within 28-27 at the break.
The chess match continued throughout the second half, as the two teams combined to made just two field goals in a nine-minute stretch – with a Time 3-pointer pulling C of I within 44-41 with four minutes left. However, lay-ups from Sljivancanin and Jonny Hillman extended the lead to seven, as the Montana side held on for the win.
Carroll had a 32-28 edge in rebounds, as Brenden Temple led all players with nine boards.
Straton Rogers led C of I with five rebounds, with Robinett and
Ivory Miles-Williams each posting four.
The Coyotes return home on Wednesday night, beginning a 5-game homestand with a 7 p.m. match-up with rival Northwest Nazarene in Game 1 of the United Heritage Insurance Mayors' Cup Series.
