Box Score BOX SCORE
SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's basketball team defeated Great Falls 78-55 in the opening round of the Frontier Conference Tournament on Tuesday night in the Behnken Field House. No. 4 Westminster (24-5) advances to the semi-finals with the 11th straight win and remain perfect all-time against Great Falls (7-22) in 25 meetings.
“I this was a great game for our guys,” head coach Tommy Connor said. “We know it was going to be a battle because every tournament game is.”
Westminster led from wire-to-wire in the contest and spent much of the first half with a five to eight point advantage. The lead was 10 when they took the floor for the second half at which point the Griffins used 22-10 run over the first 8:20 to push the lead to 22 and take control of the game. The lead would eventually reach 32 with 7:10 remaining.
“We were very prepared to win this game,” Connor commented. “Our whole focus was to beat Great Falls and I'm glad we got the win.”
Westminster shot the ball well all night finishing at 50.9% from the field. They took advantage of their size scoring 44 points in the paint to overcome just 2-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc. The Griffins had 13 points from 10 offensive rebounds while recording 21 assists and only eight turnovers. Defensively they held Great Falls to 34.6% shooting and forced 15 turnovers that resulted in 18 points.
“We were really good in the second half defensively,” Connor said of the final 20 minutes. “I was really excited for the reserves that got in late and I felt they played terrific basketball.”
Ben Walker led the attack from the start and finished with a career high 25 points. Walker was 11-of-14 from the field and made al three of his free throws. He also collected seven rebounds to go with two assists, three steals, and two blocks.
“Ben was really good tonight,” Connor said of his junior forward. “I challenged him to be a better post player and he took the challenge.”
Weston Anderson added 13 points while making all four of his field goal attempts.
Tanner Gregory added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Blair Prowse had seven points and six rebounds while
Jeramie Hopson had five points and six assists.
Mark Celeya led Great Falls with 19 points and went 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Great Falls finished 10-of-20 from distance and had 13 assists on 18 total field goals.
Westminster will now host the No. 4 seed Rocky Mountain College in a semi-final game on Friday, March 5. Rocky advanced with a 64-63 home win over fifth-seeded Carroll on Tuesday night. Westminster swept the season series with the defending national champions this season. Tipoff from the Behnken Field House is schedule for 7 p.m. but could be moved to 8 p.m. depending on what happens in tomorrow's women's action.
