BILLINGS, Mont. –  The Battlin' Bears defeated the No. 3 ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints 78-66 Thursday night.

In Rocky's first Frontier Conference match-up since Dec. 1, the Battlin' Bears and Saints played each other evenly for the majority of the first half. Tied at 34 points shortly before the half, the Battlin' Bears shot ahead on a 8-2 point streak. Carroll College never saw the lead again.

Rocky shot 49.2 percent on the night which was a small improvement over Carroll's 47.1 percent. The Saints entered the night ranked No. 1 in three point field goal percentage, but shot just 20 percent from beyond the arc. The Battlin' Bears drained 39.3 percent of their three pointers.

The Frontier Conference leader in scoring, Jared Samuelson, scored 21 points and pulled in 11 rebounds. The senior from Billings, Mont., now leads the Frontier Conference in double doubles on the season with four.

Craig Wilmore scored 20 points with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Danny Betcher provided 14 points while Brandon The Boy added an additional 11.

Rocky won the rebound battle with a 39-23 advantage in boards. The Battlin' Bears scored 18 points off of second chance opportunities.

Carroll College was led by current Frontier Conference Player of the Week, Matt Wyman. Wyman scored 17 points. Match Burnham contributed an additional 15 with nine rebounds.

The Battlin' Bears will play the Montana Tech Orediggers on Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Butte, Mont.