Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team opened the 2011 Westminster Thanksgiving Classic with an 81-46 win over NCAA DIII Lyndon State on Friday evening at the Behnken Field House.
Westminster (8-2) started the game with a 15-0 run and would carry a lead of double digits throughout the contest. Lyndon (0-4) would get within 12 on two occasions in the first half before eventually trailing 38-22 at the break. The Griffins continued to attack in the second half and would eventually push the advantage to the final margin of 35 with 18 seconds to play.
“I'm proud of the guys,” head coach
Adam Hiatt said after the win. “It was good to get everyone in the game and I felt in the second half we played with a sense of enjoyment.”
Westminster shot 48.4% from the floor in the game and scored 40 points in the paint. They were 7-of-23 from beyond the arc, but struggled from deep after halftime at 2-for-13. The Griffins recorded 22 assists on 32 made field goals and shot 71.4% at the foul line.
On the defensive end, Westminster forced Lyndon into 27 turnovers which resulted in 32 Griffin points and 12 fast break points. The Hornets shot 30.9% from the floor in the game and were 5-of-25 from distance. Westminster recorded a school record 22 steals in the game and also blocked five shots.
Ben Walker led the Griffins in scoring with 15 points on a 7-for-10 shooting effort. Walker collected five rebounds, four steals, two assists and one steal.
Jordan Hayter added nine points and six assists while
Alex Drecksel scored eight points off the bench.
Westminster had 13 different players score and 12 grab at least one rebound. The bench contributed 41 points to the scoring cause.
Jason Gray led Lyndon with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Ben Sackett added 10 points and Patrick Dunn scored six.
Westminster will finish the Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday when they host UC-Colorado Springs at 7 p.m. in the Behnken Field House. UCCS was defeated by Carroll 73-63 in the first game of the night.
