Box Score SALT LAKE CITY – With all the hype surrounding the bigs for this seasons Westminster men's basketball team, it was the hot shooting from beyond the arc that guided them to an eighth straight win. No. 2 Westminster (18-1, 4-0 Frontier) connected on nine 3-pointers in the first half to take a 50-34 lead into the intermission. The bigs showed up in the second half and carried the Griffins to an 89-63 win over Montana Western on Saturday night.

With leading scorer Geoff Payne sitting on the bench with two early fouls Westminster went crazy from deep, connecting on eight straight attempts during one stretch. Wes Anderson provided much of the spark with a four triples in the half. He finished the game with a career high 19 points and five makes from beyond the arc.

“We took advantage of their zone and made some threes,” assistant coach Jason Long stated. “They tried to take us out of our stuff so we had to adjust.”

Payne led the second half surge scoring 13 of his game high 20 points during the second stanza. Westminster spread the ball around all game and five players scored in double figures. They recorded 25 assists and 34 baskets and that ration was 19-of-20 in the first half. The Griffins also controlled the boards with a 45-34 advantage and turned 13 offensive rebounds into 17 points.

Montana Western (8-10, 3-10 Frontier) was led by JaRon Brown and his 20 points. He finished with a double-double as he corralled 10 rebounds. Layne Glaus chipped in 11 points and two steals.

Next for Westminster is a trip to Helena, Montana to take on No. 13 Carroll College. That game is at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 22.