DECATUR, Ill. – The Carroll University men's basketball team won their fourth conference road game of the season Saturday afternoon, defeating Millikin 83-67. The Pioneers shot over 54 percent from the field, 33 percent from three, and 57 percent from the free throw line. Jacob Naber led the Pioneers in scoring, dropping 15 points on 7/13 shooting. Naber also led the Pios in rebounding, securing seven of the team's 35 rebounds on the afternoon.

The Pioneers (11-8, 4-6 CCIW) forced nine turnovers and had 16 assists to just six turnovers of their own. The Pioneers had a very balanced scoring attack, with five players scoring in double figures. Sophomore Evan Bland had 13 points and two assists, Juiniors Aaron Wafford and Kobe Simpson each scored 11 points, while fellow junior Eckahelo Simpson contributed 10 points of his own. Two Pios added eight points apiece, with Justin Steinike and Lamar Smith doing the honors.

Carroll would kick things off in the wire-to-wire victory with a basket by Eckahelo in the first minute. The two teams then traded baskets in the opening minutes of the half. With just under 15 minutes in the first period Carroll would begin to build their lead. An Erik Victorson three-pointer capped off a 12-7 run, which spanned seven minutes and gave the Pioneers their first double digit lead of the half, leading 25-15. Millikin would hit a couple shots to bring the game back to single digits, but Carroll slowly built their lead back up. In the closing minutes of the first half, a Wafford pull-up, back-to-back layups from Smith and Bland, and another free throw from Smith sent the Pios into the break with a 15-point lead at 45-30.

Millikin opened the second half scoring with a jumper just 15 seconds into the period, but Wafford would swish a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to get those points back. Millikin then found some offensive rhythm, going on an 8-3 run and bringing the game within single digits once more. A Smith layup would silence the run and push the game back to 10, giving the Pios a 50-40 lead with just over 16 minutes remaining. The two teams would once again find themselves trading baskets for the next several minutes, with neither team willing to give an inch and allow the other to gain any ground. A reverse layup from junior Dom Burns gave the Pios an 11-point lead, and free throws and a pair of layups from Naber gave Carroll their largest lead of 16 points with just over six minutes to play. Millikin attempted to claw back, bringing the game within 10 once again, but a Steinike layup off a Kobe assist silenced the attempted comeback.

Carroll will be back in action on Wednesday, as they'll host in-state conference rival Carthage at 7 p.m. at Van Male Fieldhouse in Waukesha, Wis.