HELENA, Ore. – A tough defensive first half gave way to a runaway victory for Carroll College on Monday night as the Beacons were defeated by the No. 9-ranked Saints, 71-45.
 
Bushnell (1-3) held a small 8-6 lead after the end of the first quarter as both teams made things difficult on the offenses to score.
 
By the end of the first 20 minutes, Carroll (3-3) pulled out to a 24-19 advantage and the home team doubled their score in the third quarter alone, pulling ahead 49-32. The Saints finished the game shooting 51% from the field, holding the Beacons to 32% shooting and a 4-for-18 effort from three-point range.
 
After the game, head coach Chad Meadors said, "I think we are all pretty frustrated. We didn't play that well. We played tight from the get go and out of the shoot we weren't running the floor. They switched to zone and were didn't have an answer for that. The lack of offense effected our defense, and one thing led to another and you can't let that happen against a top-ten team in the NAIA. A loss like this shows you some things you need to work on, and this gave us some real clarity on what we need to do and how we need to go about it."
 
Junior Ayden Krupke (pictured) provided a bright spot for the Beacons, finishing with a team-high 14 points while Libby Mathis scored ten. Maddie Gerhard added nine points off the bench and Ellis Mastel scored four points with a team-high five rebounds.
 
Willie Albrecht led the Saints with 30 points, shooting 9-for-14 from the field with a trio of three-pointers, nine rebounds, and a 9-for-9 effort at the free-throw line. Kyndall Keller added 21 points, shooting 8-for-11.
 
The Beacons will have a quick turnaround, heading 90 miles northeast to Great Falls, Montana to take on No. 6-ranked University of Providence on Tuesday at 11:30 am MT.