Box Score BOX SCORE
SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's basketball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Frontier Conference with a 59-51 win over Rocky Mountain College on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.
No. 13 Westminster (15-5, 5-1) was tied with Rocky (9-11, 4-1) with 12 minutes to play before using an 11-2 run to run the lead to nine with six minutes to play. Westminster went 3-of-5 from the foul line in the final minutes, but Rocky couldn't get closer that five.
“This is a really great win,” head coach Tommy Connor said after the game. “Rocky is a really great team and I thought we really guarded well and our defense stepped up and won the game for us.”
Westminster shot just 42.3% from the field but took advantage of 17 Rocky turnovers that resulted in 14 Westminster points. The Griffins also held Rocky to 33.3% shooting and just 7-of-23 from beyond the arc. Westminster committed just 11 turnovers and had 18 assists on 22 baskets. They also controlled the paint and finished with a 32-18 advantage in that department.
“We had some guys step up and hit some big shots,” Connor commented. “Jeramie (Hopson) hit some really big threes and we handled the press much better in the second half.”
Blair Prowse finished with a game-high 15 points and three steals. His dunk on a feed from
Michael Stockton capped the second half run that put the game away.
Jeramie Hopson had a nice night with 14 points and a team high seven rebounds.
Weston Anderson finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The griffins got big minutes off the bench from
Tanner Gregory who finished with eight points and four rebounds.
“Tanner is just solid,” Connor said of his sophomore forward. “I can trust him defensively and rebounding and he gave us all the solid little things we needed.”
Rocky played most of the game with its second leading scorer Anthony Allen. He went down with a knee injury midway through the opening half, but had five points and five rebounds to that point. Nate Richardson led Rocky with 14 points and five assists. EJ Ross added 10 points and four rebounds.
Westminster now travels to Lewiston, Idaho to face Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday, January 30. That game will tipoff at 9:00 p.m. (MT) from the Lewiston Activity Center.
