Box Score SALT LAKE CITY – With five players in double figures the 10th-ranked Westminster College men's basketball team defeated Minot State, 87-74 on Friday night in the Behnken Field House.

The second game of the Westminster Holiday Classic saw Westminster (11-2) pick up a fourth consecutive victory.  The Griffins started the game slowly and with 3:51 remaining in the first half they trailed 31-19.  It was then an 8-0 run to finish the half, sparked by six points from junior Jordan Hayter.  Westminster shot 36% from the floor in the first half and trailed 31-29 at intermission.

“I had this feeling this afternoon that we weren't going to be ready to play,” head coach Adam Hiatt said.  “I wasn't surprised with the sluggish start.”

The second half was a different story as the Griffins scored the first 10 points after the break to build a 39-31 lead with 17:18 remaining.  Minot (1-11) would eventually get the game within 49-47 at the 11:53 mark behind a 12-3 run.  Westminster would put the game away with an 11-3 run to push the advantage to 70-56 with 5:40 remaining.

“We did a real good job of playing defense during that run,” Hiatt said of the end of the first half.  “We defended during the stretch and did a good job of running our stuff.”

Westminster was stellar shooting in the second half and finished the final 20 minutes shooting 70.6% from the floor.  They finished the night at 55.9% shooting while scoring 58 points in the paint.  The Griffins recorded 15 assists and only seven turnovers in the game and only committed two turnovers in the second half.

Ben Walker led Westminster with 19 points on a 9-of-12 shooting effort.  The senior forward also grabbed two rebounds while dishing out two assists.  Jake Orchard added 18 points on a 7-for-11 shooting night.  Orchard made his only attempt from deep and also had two blocks and two steals.  Hayter finished with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“Hayter was terrific tonight,” Hiatt said of the junior.  “He is our best defender and he was creating havoc and getting to the rim tonight.”

Westminster forced Minot into 14 turnovers and scored 18 points from this miscues.  They also had six points on the fast break and they turned 10 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points.  The Griffins got 29 points from the bench with Alex Drecksel and Drew Phillips each scoring 10.

Josh Johnson led Minot with 19 points.  He shot 6-of-12 from the floor with three makes from beyond the arc.  Adam Randall added 15 points.

Westminster will now face No. 15 Biola in the final game of the Holiday Classic on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.  That game will begin at approximately 7 p.m. and follows the early game between Rocky Mountain and Minot State.