The Carroll men’s basketball team found out the best way to attack a zone defense Saturday night is to go outside.

A 3-point barrage and outstanding play from Chad Vaculin was enough to lift the Saints to a 83-67 win over the University of Montana-Western Saturday night. Carroll was 50 percent from 3-point range making 13-of-26 from beyond the arc. They were 9-of-14 in the second half from 3-point land.

“In the first half we tried to penetrate and when they tried to take that away, someone was open,” said Vaculin.

The Saints built a 14-point lead early in the second half, only to see Western chip the advantage back down to seven. With 11 minutes to go, Scott Stockwell, Vaculin and Derek Johnson canned consecutive 3-point shots and that was enough to put away the game.

“We had six possessions and we scored on one of them (before the run),” said Carroll coach Gary Turcott. “We went to a different look to attack it and hit three consecutive threes and coach Keller had to get out of the zone.”

Western’s first-year coach Steve Keller, a former Helena High coach and Carroll assistant, saw his team fall behind early. Both teams shot 33 percent from the field in the first half, but Carroll was more aggressive to the basket and was able to draw some fouls. The Saints were 10-of-13 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes. They took a 15-8 lead that quickly grew. That run was capped by two transition baskets. Eric Henkel and Vaculin each went coast to coast for scores. On Vaculin’s bucket, he was fouled and the ensuing free throw gave a 22-10 advantage.

“We were pretty consistent scoring,” Turcott said. “We never had any good runs, but we never had any bad spells.”

Vaculin had an outstanding all-around day as the 6-foot guard led the team with eight rebounds.

“The big guys have to box out and we want the guards to clean up the rebounds,” Turcott said.

The Saints enjoyed a 34-31 edge on the boards Saturday night.

The win was an important one for Carroll, which won their second home conference contest in a row. It gives them momentum after a tough loss to Montana State-Northern. In that game two weeks ago, the Saints lost a six-point lead in the final two minutes.

“We knew we had to (win), because it was such a difficult loss in Havre,” Turcott said. “It took us a while to get beyond that. On a team with less character, it would have hung on us longer.”

The victory also gives the Saints a head of steam going into a very difficult stretch. They travel to Billings next weekend to face Rocky Mountain College. The following weekend, they are also on the road against Westminster and Lewis-Clark State.

“It doesn’t get easier,” Turcott said. “I am glad that it is in the first half (of conference play) and not the second half.”

UM-Western — Garrett Fink 1-5 0-0 2; Aaron Sims 0-3 2-2 6; Daniel Creech 8-11 0-1 16; Layne Glaus 6-16 8-9 23; Chad Myers 6-15 8-9 23; Chad Myers 5-14 2-2 18; Zac Pitts 1-3 0-0 3; Gus McDonald 1-8 0-0 2; Ryan Hansen 0-1 0-0 0; John 0-1 0-0 0; Dovydas 1-1 0-1 2. Total 23-62 12-14 67.

Carroll College — Chad Vaculin 6-10 8-9 25; Derek Johnson 4-10 8-8 17; Eder Zuniga 3-7 0-0 8; Eric Henkel 3-10 3-4 9; Chris Kaschmitter 1-4 0-0 2; Scott Stockwell 3-5 0-0 9; Josh Saunders 1-3 0-0 3; Jason Tanascu 1-1 0-0 2; Kellen Hasnquet 1-3 2-2 5; Gage Brumwell 1-3 0-0 Zach Parks 1-3 2-2 3. Total 24-57 22-25 83.

3-point shots — UM-Western 9 (Glaus 3, Myers 5, Pitts). Carrol College 13 (Vaculin 5, Johnson 2, Zuniga 2, Stockwell 3, Saunders).Rebounds — UM-Western 31 (Sims 7, Creech 7); Carroll College 34 (Vaculin 8). Total fouls — UM-Western 23, Carroll College 19. Fouled out — none.

Reporter Tom Cotton: 447-4070 or irsports@helenair.com