March 17, 2006

Kansas City, Mo. - No. 4 seed Carroll College (Mont.) became the first team to reach the quarterfinal round of the 69th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship with a 78-74 victory Friday against Campbellsville University (Ky.) at Municipal Auditorium.

Senior Jeff Hays scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as the Fighting Saints have advanced to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year. Carroll, which is now 30-3 on the year, is riding an 11-game win streak. The Fighting Saints will play in Saturday's 4 p.m. CST quarterfinal game against either Texas Wesleyan University or Oklahoma Christian University.

With just over a minute to play, senior Travis Williams hit a three-pointer to give Carroll a 72-70 lead. On Campbellsville's next possession, junior James Steward was fouled, and he made one of two free throws to bring the Tigers within 72-71. The Fighting Saints tried to put the game away with four free throws to extend its advantage to 76-71 with 13 seconds on the clock. However, senior Zach Ingles drilled a three-point shot to rally Campbellsville within 76-74 with 6.9 seconds remaining.

Williams then iced the victory for Carroll with 1.1 seconds left when he hit two free throws. Williams finished the game with 18 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for the Fighting Saints, while senior Kurt Paulson chipped in with 13 points. Senior Sinan Guler dished out a game-high eight assists for Carroll.

Campbellsville, which earned its first NAIA Tournament victory in Wednesday's first round, ends its season with a record of 27-6. Ingles led the Tigers with 20 points, while sophomore Zach Allender added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Steward and senior Jeremy Taylor each scored 11 points for Campbellsville.