HELENA, Mont. – Derrick White secured one of the biggest comebacks in Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball history when he hit the first free throw of a bonus opportunity with seven seconds to play to lift the Warriors to a 72-70 victory over second-ranked Carroll College.
 
The 10^th-ranked Warriors trailed by as many as 22 points early in the second half before steadily chipping away at the Carroll lead. They didn't take it until White's layup with :32 to play pushed them ahead 71-70. The Saints, who lost for the first time this season, were working the ball around the perimeter for a final shot when White stole the ball with 14 seconds to go. He was fouled but missed the front end of the bonus opportunity to give the Saints another chance at a final shot.
 
Santos Piqueras took the shot with two seconds to play and White darted in for the rebound and drew the foul.
 
"I give this team a lot of credit," coach Brandon Rinta said. "They showed an incredible amount of heart. Being down 22, our guys never quit. They just kept battling back.
 
"Carroll is very deserving of its ranking. They are a very good team. They are so efficient offensively."
 
While White had the last-minute heroics, Rinta pointed to Damek Mitchell's key minutes when the Warriors were trailing by 18 with 12:23 to play. He made six points in a 90-second span to ignite the offense. Adding a boost to Mitchell's energy were two 3-pointers and four free throws by Race Martin.
 
At the same time on the other end of the court, White, Trea Thomas and Cordel Hankerson were fueling the defensive fire.
 
"Those guys are defensive rocks for us," Rinta said.
 
Not only was there the massive second-half deficit to overcome but there was the massive (55-foot) 3-point goal with less than one second left in the first half for a 43-17 Carroll lead that could have knocked the Warriors on their heels.
 
"Our guys dug in in the second half," Rinta said. "To hold (Carroll) to 44 percent in the second half and find a way to shoot 55 percent and share the basketball, is a testament to the adjustments our guys made. And never giving up."
 
Martin finished with 17 points, while White had 14 and Thomas 10. Jeremy Franklin had seven rebounds, White had six and Hankerson had five. Thomas also had four assists.