78-51 Win Over Bushnell Keeps Carroll Men's Basketball Undefeated

Carroll Men Cruise to 78-51 Win Over Bushnell in Home Opener

Following a successful opening weekend in California, the Carroll Men’s Basketball team started their home slate on the right foot with a 78-51 win over Bushnell on Wednesday evening at the PE Center, carrollathletics.com reported. For the first time in the young season, the Fighting Saints saw solid production up and down the entire lineup, leading coast-to-coast against the Beacons.

Led by a second-straight 20-plus-point effort from Isaac Round of Northampton, England, the Saints walked off their home court with their highest-scoring game of the young season. Right from the opening tip, Carroll controlled the tempo, quickly jumping ahead to a 12-2 advantage within the initial five minutes. From there, the Beacons would never get back within even one score.

While careless turnovers continue to be a small early-season problem, the Saints found ways to overcome. Nine first-half Carroll turnovers were negated thanks to a strong defensive effort, as they forced 10 Bushnell turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Balanced Scoring and Defensive Pressure

Every single one of the nine Saints who appeared in the first half contributed at least two points, enabling Carroll to build a 38-20 advantage by halftime. Round scored seven of his 22 points in the first half, while Drew Jones of Puyallup, Washington, led the Saints with eight first-half points.

Carroll shot over 50 percent from the floor in the first half at 51.6 percent, and managed to up the output in the second frame with a highly efficient 62 percent effort from the floor by hitting 18 of 29 attempts. On the flip side, the Saints held the Beacons to a meager 31 percent shooting, including a 22 percent effort in the opening half on 7-of-31 shooting.

Bushnell mounted a short-lived surge after the break, trimming a 20-point Carroll advantage down to 11 points by the 14:37 mark. The Saints thwarted the comeback effort, however, never allowing the Beacons to get within 10 points for the remainder of the night.

Standout Performances and Future Matchups

Viktor Bystrom of Linkoping, Sweden, impressed in his home debut, finishing his evening with eight points and a team-best eight rebounds. He highlighted the pull-away effort in the second half for the Saints by throwing down a dunk over traffic in the circle while adding a pair of blocks.

Round paced a group of just three Saints to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 22 points while going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jones posted 14 points, while Josiah Cuaresma of Missoula, Montana, finished with 11 points on a 5-6 shooting night.

Quick hands have become a hallmark of Carroll basketball, and Kellen Harrison of Bozeman, Montana, alongside Jones, made their presence felt defensively. Harrison led all players with five steals in the game, while Jones recorded four.

While the Saints enjoyed their best shooting night of the year from the floor, the free-throw line proved difficult. Carroll converted only five of their 12 attempts from the stripe at 41.7 percent.

The undefeated Fighting Saints sit at 3-0 on the young season. Carroll will enjoy a free weekend before turning their attention toward a pair of games next week in Caldwell, Idaho, against Northwest and the No. 16 College of Idaho.