Carroll College became the first team to beat No. 7 Westminster at home this season and the Saints (18-5 overall, 8-4 conference) brought life back into their chances of winning the Frontier Conference regular season championship with a 78-71 win over the Griffins.

"Unbelievable," said Saints head coach Gary Turcott. "We were dead in the water, but we're back in it."

Westminster hadn't lost since Jan. 5, 2008 in an 85-84 loss to Lewis-Clark State. They had won 16 straight at home since.

The Saints, meanwhile, were coming off a disappointing 61-56 loss to Lewis-Clark on Friday, which had slipped them to third place in the conference behind Westminster (24-4, 10-3) and MSU-Northern (20-7, 9-3).

Facing off against the team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation when they defeated the Saints 75-73 on Jan. 22, Carroll avenged its loss by overpowering the Griffins on Westminster's "Senior Night."

No one took advantage of the new offense more than senior guard Chad Vaculin. He finished with 27 points off 4-for-8 shooting from behind the arc and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line.

Josh Saunders chipped in 13 and Andy Garland and Chase Godecke both contributed 10 points for the Saints.

The Saints are at home in their final two games. They'll take on the University of Great Falls on Thursday, before hosting Northern on Saturday.

"It's going to come down to the last game of the year," Turcott said.

Carroll 39 39 -- 78

Westminster 35 36 -- 71

Carroll -- Chad Vaculin 6-11 11-11 27, Josh Saunders 4-10 4-4 13, Andy Garland 3-10 3-4 10, Chris Kaschmitter 2-2 2-2 6, Chris Medina 3-8 1-2 9, Scott Stockwell 0-5 1-2 1, Chase Godecke 4-5 2-3 10, Zach Parks 0-1 2-2 2. Totals -- 22-52 26-30 78.

Westminster -- Jeramie Hopson 5-11 3-4 13, Jordan Jacobs 3-10 4-5 13, Les Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Nate Sanchez 8-9 0-0 16, Goeff Payne 7-11 7-14 21, Michael Stockton 2-5 2-2 6, Danny Stosich 1-1 0-0 2. Totals -- 26-52 16-25 71.

3-pointers -- Carroll 8-21 (Vaculin 4-8), Westminster 3-13 (Jacobs 3-10). Rebounds -- Carroll 36 (Garland 10), Westminster 29 (Brown 8). Assists -- Carroll 13 (Vaculin 4, Stockwell 4), Westminster 10 (Jacobs 4). Turnovers -- Carroll 14, Westminster 13. Fouls -- Carroll 24, Westminster 23. Foul outs -- Kaschmitter, Godecke, Parks, Stockton, Stosich. Technicals -- None.

Westminster women 79, Carroll 68

The Carroll College women's basketball team finished their final road game of the regular season with a 79-68 loss to No. 17 Westminster in Salt Lake City Saturday night.

The Saints fall to 14-14 overall and 3-9 in Frontier Conference play.

Amy Allen led a first-half charge, scoring six points in a 10-4 run that brought the Saints to within one at 16-15.

Westminster finished the first half off with a 10-2 run of their own that gave them a 33-21 advantage at the break.

Bruursema opened the second half with two buckets from behind and two free throws as Shannon Bosley added a short jumper to cut the Westminster lead to four at 37-33.

Carroll 21 47 -- 68

Westminster 33 46 -- 79

Carroll (68) - Bruursema 7-15 14-16 33, Mills 0-2 0-0 0, Jagelski 2-5 0-2 4, Leibach 3-5 1-2 7, Bosley 2-4 0-0 4, Green 1-3 0-0 2, Cahill 3-5 2-2 8, Allen 3-9 0-0 6, Pettit 2-8 0-0 4. Totals 23-56 17-22 68.

Westminster (79) -- Hoskins 2-5 2-4 7, S. Evans 3-11 11-12 17, Tucker 1-4 1-2 3, Pace 1-3 2-2 4, Leader 9-12 2-3 21, D. Evans 0-0 0-1 0, Philipps 0-0 0-0 0, Catten 0-6 0-0 0, Jessop 5-6 2-4 13, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Young 5-6 2-4 14. Totals 26-53 22-32 79.

3-Point Goals -- Carroll 5-18 (Bruursema 5-9, Jagelski 0-1, Leibach 0-1, Green 0-2, Cahill 0-1, Allen 0-4), Westminster 5-21 (Hoskins 1-2, S. Evans 0-5, Tucker 0-1, Leader 1-4, Catten 0-4, Jessop 1-2, Young 2-3). Rebounds -- Carroll 35 (Bosley, Allen 6), Westminster 35 (Jessop 8). Assists -- Carroll 8 (Green, Cahill, Allen 2), Westminster 19 (Evans 8). Total Fouls -- Carroll 24, Westminster 18. Fouled Out -- Carroll (Jagelski), Wesminster (Hoskins). Technicals -- none.