WHITEWATER, Wis. – Carroll men's basketball dropped a hard-fought 64–60 contest at UW-Whitewater on Saturday night. The Pioneers trailed 36–29 at halftime and faced a 17-point deficit with 6:11 remaining before mounting a surge that cut the margin to four in the closing seconds.

Carroll shot 43.2 percent from the field and 77.8 percent at the stripe but struggled from beyond the arc at 1-for-13. Smith powered the comeback with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double on 8-of-9 shooting, repeatedly carving out space on the block and finishing in transition. Jacob Naber added 13 points and six boards, converting a perfect 7-for-7 at the line to keep Carroll close, while Michael McNabb chipped in 13 points and four rebounds, including a key second-chance tip-in during the late run.

Whitewater countered with 38.1 percent shooting and was led by Collin Madson's game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 from the floor. The Warhawks' work on the glass proved decisive, turning 20 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. Carroll owned the fast-break battle (20–4) and generated 34 points in the paint with aggressive drives and rim runs, but Whitewater answered with 40 paint points and timely putbacks that sustained their advantage through the middle stretch of the second half.

Key swings defined the night. Whitewater closed the first half on a 21–8 spurt to build a seven-point lead, then extended it to 57–40 before Carroll strung together stops and an 8–0 burst to reach 61–57 at the 1:43 mark. After a pair of Warhawk free throws, Smith's three-point play at :04 set the final margin, but the Pioneers ran out of time.

Carroll moves to 4–5 overall, while UW-Whitewater improves to 7–1. Points off turnovers were even at 18 apiece, and Carroll finished with nine second-chance points and 31 total rebounds in the effort.