BOX SCORE

SALT LAKE CITY – It wasn't the prettiest of games, but the 23rd-ranked Westminster men's basketball team defeated No. 19 Montana State-Northern 55-44 on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House. The 99 combined points is the fewest in a Westminster game since a 55-42 win over Great Falls last February.

Saturday's win improves Westminster to 17-4 overall and 5-2 in the Frontier Conference. MSU-Northern slips to 15-7 and 4-3 with the loss.

The defenses dominated the first half that finished at 20-16 in favor of the Griffins. Westminster shot just 34.8% from the floor in the half while holding Northern to 46.7%. The second half featured a 19-5 run by the Griffins in which they scored 12 points at the foul line. Westminster only managed seven second half field goals, but they made up for it by shooting 21-of-26 at the charity stripe.

Defense was the key to the game for Westminster. They held Northern to 43.2% shooting and forced them into 13 turnovers with 10 steals. Those turnovers resulted in 17 Griffin points. Westminster also controlled the window with a 27-19 advantage in rebounds with 11 coming on the offensive end while scoring 24 points in the paint.

Three players scored in double figures for the Griffins. Jake Orchard and Michael Stockton had 13 points apiece with Tanner Gregory adding 10. Stockton pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go with one assist and one steal. Jordan Bjornberg added eight points and AJ Reilly had five points and four steals.

Shaun Tatarka led Northern with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Tatarka and Devin Jackson grabbed five rebounds apiece while LaVon Myers had three assists.

Westminster will now start the second half of the conference season with a road game at Montana Western on February 4. The Griffins will play five of the remaining seven games on the schedule away from Salt Lake City.