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DENVER, Colo. - Reggie Evans (Aurora, Colo./Rangeview H.S.) buried a pair of free throws with four seconds left as Metro State escaped with a 72-70 victory over Carroll College (Mont.) on Friday night in Denver.  The Roadrunners improved to 7-2 this season, while the Fighting Saints fell to 7-4.

Evans finished with a team-high 21 points, hitting 8-of-14 from the field.  Donte Nicholas (Washington, D.C./Oakton H.S.) notched his third career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while dishing out a season-high five assists.  He hit 10-of-14 free throws.

Jonathan Morse (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) and Brian Minor (Clovis, Calif./Clovis H.S.) added nine points apiece, while #A.J. Flournoy# scored six.

Metro State trailed 14-8 with 13 minutes left in the first half, but Evans scored the next six points to tie the game at 14-14.  Neither team could take control the rest of the half, with neither team managing no larger than a 3-point lead and they entered the half tied at 37-37.  Evans had 15 points to lead both teams at the break.  CC's Chris Medina hit 4-of-8 from the outside for 14 points in the first half, helping the Fighting Saints connect on 6-of-14 from beyond the arc.  Metro State went 0-for-5 from 3-point range.

Play remained even through the first 10 minutes of the second half and the scored was tied 52-52 with at the midpoint of the second half.  Nicholas hit two free throws with just under 10 minutes to play, sparking an 8-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer by Minor, the first triple for the Roadrunners on the night.

Metro State built its lead up to nine points three different times, but an 8-0 Carroll run cut a 69-60 lead to one point with 1:57 remaining as Andy Garland made a layup.  Evans hit 1-of-2 at the line with 1:25 left to give Metro State a 70-68 lead, but Jordan Reyes made a wide open layup on the other end to tie the game with 50 seconds remaining.

The Fighting Saints took a time out with 26 seconds left after forcing a turnover, but Evans came up with a steal near midcourt with seven seconds left and was fouled as he went for the game-winning layup.  After hitting both free throws to put Metro State up by two, Flournoy stole the ball near midcourt and called timeout with one second left before CC could tie him up and the Roadrunners held the ball for the final second to secure the win.

Metro State shot 48.1 (25-for-52) percent from the floor, but just 2-of-9 behind the arc.  Carroll hit 27-of-60 (45.0 percent), including 8-of-25 from the outside.  The Fighting Saints also held a 36-35 rebounding edge, including 14 offensive boards the led to 11 second chance points.

Medina scored a game-high 22 points as he shot 8-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-13 from the outside.  Garland had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The Roadrunners will host Black Hills State (S.D.) on Saturday at 3 p.m.  That game will be broadcast live on Mile High Sports Radio at 1510 AM.