Story by NAIA Office

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box score) No. 4 seed Carroll (Mont.) continues its postseason march on the second day of the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship, knocking off No. 1-seeded LSU Alexandria (La.), 66-60, in the second round. The Saints will face No. 6-seeded Campbellsville (Ky.) on Saturday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. CDT.

Zach Taylor led three Carroll players in double figures with 23 points, hitting 8 of 16 field goals from the field to go along with four rebounds and one steal. Ryan Imhoff added 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, while Lorel Johnson (10 points) also reached double digits.

“We are pumped. We jump into game prep right now,” said Carroll head coach Carson Cunningham. “We are excited about it and we got to get ready for Campbellsville. That is the mode we are in right now.”

The Saints maintained a comfortable cushion throughout the first half, never leading by fewer than seven points. Brian Sylvester led his team with 12 points and six rebounds in the first half, going 6-for-10 from the field. It was the 31 committed turnovers from the Saints that kept LSU Alexandria in the game scoring nine points off the turnovers.

Heading in to the second half up by six, LSU Alexandria managed to tie the game once (33-33) with 16:56 to go, but a pivotal three made by Taylor flipped the game’s momentum towards Carroll as they went on an 11-4 run at the beginning of the second half and never trailed in the second half. Late free throws were crucial for Carroll, netting 11 of 15 during the final five minutes, five of those coming from Ryan Imhoff.

Carroll shot 38.5 percent from the field (20 of 52) with six of those made baskets coming from beyond the arc. The Generals had a rough night shooting, being limited to 31.7 percent (19 of 60), made only two three-point shots and were outshot at the free throw line, 16-12.

“We didn’t play our best game, but give Carroll credit,” said LSU Alexandria head coach Larry Cordaro. “They’re a very good team as they showed tonight. There was a ton of fight on the court tonight. The ball just didn’t bounce our way.”

Sylvester shared game-high scoring honors with a career-high 23 points while posting a game-best 13 rebounds for LSU Alexandria, but was the only Generals player to reach double figures.

This is the second time Carroll has advanced on to quarterfinal play. The last time was in 2006 losing to Texas Wesleyan, 73-40.

LSU Alexandria finishes its season with a 29-4 record.

Game Notes
Carroll - Punched its third quarterfinal ticket with the victory tonight, with the last one coming in 2006 (L, 73-40 vs Texas Wesleyan)… Draws to 9-9 in nine all-time championship appearances… Since 2005, Saints are now 8-4 in the championship event – prior to that, they were 1-5… Eliminates No. 1 seed LSU Alexandria, which is now the second top seed to go down today (No. 1 Biola (Calif.))… Entered the game No. 1 in the NAIA in field goal percentage (51.3 percent)… Holds their seventh opponent this season to 60-or-fewer points… Imhoff recorded his second-straight double-double after posting 25 points and 11 boards in the Carroll opener.

LSU Alexandria – The Generals’ bench recorded 42 points of the team’s 60 points… The Generals were the No. 1-ranked team in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll for five-straight weeks during a 21-game win streak… After scoring 95 points in the opening round win Thursday against SAGU (Texas), the Generals notch just 60 – the output is a season scoring low and the fewest since 47 in the loss in the national championship a year ago against Cumberlands (Ky.)… Came into tonight in the top 10 nationally in field goal percentage (.491).