Box Score BOX SCORE
SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's basketball team put four players in double figures on its way to an 81-62 win against St. Tomas (Fla.) on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House. No. 9 Westminster (6-4) shot 60.9% in the opening 20 minutes and carried a 41-23 lead into the intermission. St. Thomas (2-4) kept fighting in the second half but couldn't overcome to early deficit giving the Griffins wins on back-to-back nights.
Westminster used a 12-3 run midway through the first half to open up a 12 points advantage. They played the remained of the half with a double-digit lead that eventually reached 18 when
Michael Stockton hit a three from the corner with four second remaining in the half. St. Thomas got as close as seven with 14 minutes remaining, but points on five straight possession gave Westminster control of the game.
“I'm really happy with our guys for beating a good team on a second night,” head coach Tommy Connor said. “It's very hard to play a team like that back-to-back. St. Thomas is a very good team and they did not quit, the score is not indicative of how close this game was.”
The Griffins shot 51.9% from the floor and scored 42 points in the paint. They grabbed 13 offensive rebounds that turned into 10 second chance points. The bench came up big in the game, outscoring the Bobcats reserves 35-19. Defensively they limited STU to just 34% shooting and forced 18 turnovers which resulted in 20 points and 12 on the fast break.
Stockton finished with 13 points, one off his career high, and eight assists. He was 4-of-7 from the filed and connected twice from beyond the arc. Stockton also recorded three steals and two rebounds in his 27 minutes.
“I thought Stockton had a terrific second half,” Connor said of his reserve guard. “He has been playing terrific basketball lately and without him on the floor we would have been in trouble tonight.”
Blair Prowse also had 13 points, including twice making lay-ups as he was getting fouled as St. Thomas was making a run.
Jeramie Hopson had his best night of the season with 11 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Hopson was 5-of-7 shooting and had one steal in 28 minutes.
Ben Walker added 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Antonio Jones led STU with 26 points and three steals. NAIA D2's fourth leading scorer went 7-of-12 from the field and hit two triples from well beyond the three-point stripe. Tracy Razz added nine points and David Nesbitt grabbed seven rebounds.
