Box Score GREELEY, Colo. – The Westminster College men's basketball team picked up one of the biggest wins in school history with a 73-60 win over NCAA Division I Northern Colorado on Thursday night.
The NAIA Griffins defeat a NCAA DI team for the first time since 2004 when they won at Idaho State, 66-55. Westminster is now 10-2 on the season and has won three straight games. For UNC of the Big Sky Conference, they fall to 2-5 on the season.
It was a huge night for junior
Jake Orchard as he finished the game with 28 points on 9-of-10 shooting. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc while also making all four of his free throws. Orchard also added three assists, two rebounds, one block and one steal.
Tanner Gregory added 11 points and five rebounds.
Ben Walker scored eight points and
AJ Reilly added seven. Walker grabbed a team-best six rebounds and all of Reilly's points came after halftime.
Westminster shot 40% from the field and went 13-of-21 in the second half. They were also prolific from beyond the arc, making 12 triples on 25 attempts. They recorded 17 assists on 25 field goals and only committed nine turnovers. Westminster held the Bears to 41% shooting and forced 16 turnovers.
UNC scored the first eight points of the game and would hold the lead until Orchard hit a three with 14:06 to play to make it 13-12 for the Griffins. The Bears would push the lead back to six with 6:59 remaining in the firs half. Westminster would score the final four points of the first half to carry a 32-29 lead into the intermission.
The Griffins started the second half with a 15-8 run to open up a 10-point cushion with 11:32 remaining. The lead would grow to 16 after Reilly connected on two free throws with 5:13 remaining. UNC would get within 66-57 at the 1:59 mark only to watch Westminster go 6-of-7 at the stripe down the stretch to seal the win.
Tate Unruh led UNC with 16 points while Paul Garnica added 14. The Bears had a 34-25 rebounding advantage, including 11 on the offensive end.
Westminster will return to action on December 16 when they host Minot State during the Holiday Classic. That game will tipoff at 7 p.m. in the Behnken Field House.
