March 1, 2026
BUTTE, Mont. — No. 7 seed MSU-Northern erased an 11-point halftime deficit and rode a dominant second half to an 80-76 victory over No. 3 seed Carroll (Mont.) in the Frontier Conference men’s postseason semifinals Sunday night at the Butte Civic Center. It was the second straight game that the Lights upset the higher seed in the conference postseason tournament (defeated No. 2 seed Bellevue, Neb., Friday evening).
Carroll controlled the opening 20 minutes, building a 40-29 lead behind efficient shooting and a balanced inside-out attack. The Saints shot 50 percent from the field for the game (30-of-60) and 42.1 percent from 3-point range (8-of-19), led by Isaiah Crane’s 20 points and nine rebounds and Nate Christy’s 15 points and nine boards. Crane went 9-of-17 from the floor and 2 of 2 from beyond the arc.
The momentum swung after the break as the Lights - who lost last four straight regular-season games before coming to postseason tournament Friday - tightened defensively and began to chip away.
MSU-Northern outscored Carroll 51-36 in the second half, fueled by aggressive drives, timely shooting and a decisive advantage at the foul line.
Leon Sayers IV sparked the comeback, scoring inside at the 17:30 mark to cut the deficit to 43-37, part of an 18-point, five-rebound, three-assist performance in which he shot 7-of-10 from the field.
Carroll’s lead continued to shrink midway through the half. With 10:56 remaining, Austin Ramos converted a layup to pull MSU-Northern within three at 52-49, signaling that the Lights had fully settled in offensively. Ramos finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes, repeatedly finding seams in the Saints’ defense and helping MSU-Northern push the pace.
The game flipped for good in the closing minutes. Trailing late, MSU-Northern finally surged in front when Ramos buried a 3-pointer with 3:07 to play, giving the Lights a 73-71 lead. From there, they relied on execution at the stripe.
MSU-Northern (18-12 overall record) closed 12-of-13 at the free-throw line (92.3 percent), including two clutch trips from Ramos with 14 seconds left to push the margin to 78-76.
After a defensive stop, Claysen Delp added two more free throws with seven seconds remaining to extend the lead to 80-76 and effectively seal the win.
MSU-Northern’s balanced attack complemented its strong finish. In addition to Sayers and Ramos, Luke Holecek scored 16 points with two rebounds and three assists, hitting 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-7 from deep. Raefe McEnroe added 13 points as the Lights shot 49.2 percent overall (31-of-63) and overcame a cold night from 3-point range (6-of-30) by winning the rebounding battle 29-27 and forcing nine steals.
Despite the loss, Carroll’s frontcourt tandem of Crane and Christy kept the Saints in contention throughout. Christy went 6-of-8 from the floor and added three assists, consistently finding soft spots in the MSU-Northern defense. Carroll finished with eight turnovers and 13 assists, but its 8-of-12 mark at the line (66.7 percent) and inability to generate late-game stops proved costly.
MSU-Northern moves on to the championship game on Monday evening versus top-seed Rocky Mountain (Mont.). The Lights are vying for the second Frontier Conference's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) Monday and will be broadcast live via on SWX Local Sports.
Carroll (20-9 overall record) awaits to hear from the NAIA national office Thursday evening for a potential at-large invitation to the national tournament during the Selection Show.