HELENA, Mont. – Bushnell stumbled out of the gate on Friday afternoon, giving away a five-point halftime lead as they dropped their season opener to Carroll College on the road, 95-86.
 
The Beacons (0-1) shot 44.3% in the game while the Saints (1-0) were slightly better at 45.1%. The teams tied in the rebounding battle, 37-37, but Carroll shot 5-for-11 from three-point range after the break and took the lead for good with just under nine minutes to play.  
 
Head Coach Eddie Alexander said, "I was proud of our effort today, but that was about the only positive we took away from this one. We have to play for each other and the name on the front of the jersey and I feel we lacked that today. We did do some things well, which we can build off of, but overall we didn't play to our identity and we must be better tomorrow."
 
The Beacons had four players in double-digits on Friday and seven players scored at least eight points. Leading the way was Ashton Harvey (pictured) with 18 points, adding eight rebounds and a team-high three assists. Squeeky Johnson added 13 points while Cory Johnson and Turner Livingston added ten points apiece. The Beacons outscored Carroll 35-13 off the bench and scored a 14-11 advantage in second-chance scoring, taking advantage of 13 offensive rebounds.
 
Carroll was led by James Lang with 25 points while Isaiah Crane added 23.
 
Bushnell returns to action on Saturday, remaining in Helena to take on the University of Providence in a neutral-site game at 5:30 pm (MT).