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SALT LAKE CITY – The 13th-ranked Westminster College men's basketball team heads to Caldwell, Idaho this weekend to play two games in the Golden Rule Shootout. Westminster will face Walla Walla (Wash.) on Friday at 2 p.m. to begin the weekend. They then face the host College of Idaho at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday to complete the trip.

Game Coverage
College of Idaho will have both live video and live stats available for both Westminster games. Fans can access these live features by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster enters the weekend at 4-1 overall after splitting two games in Las Vegas last weekend. They defeated Vanguard (Calif.), 77-56, on Friday before falling, 88-81, to Westmont (Calif.) on Saturday. The Griffins are 2-1 in games played outside the Behnken Field House this season.

The Griffins are averaging 82.4 points per game this season and rank 29th in the NAIA in the department. They shoot 47.3 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from beyond the arc. Westminster averages 8.2 threes per outing and is scoring 30.8 points in the paint. Defensively they allow 65.4 points per game and rank eighth nationally in allowing the opposition to shoot 23.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Against the Opposition
Friday's game against Walla Walla will be the first meeting all-time between the two programs. The Griffins hold an 11-9 edge in the series with College of Idaho and they have won six of the last seven in the series.

Orchard's the Pick
Senior forward Jake Orchard was selected as the Frontier Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Orchard was an honorable mention All-American last season after averaging 15.2 points per game and shooting 53 percent from the floor. This season, Orchard is averaging 12.8 points and 2.2 steals per game. He has scored in double figures four times, including a team-best 18 in the win over Vanguard.

Join the Club
With those 18 points against Vanguard, Orchard became the ninth Griffin to score 1,000 points for a career. The senior has 1,004 career points entering the weekend and he needs 72 points to surpass Danny Stosich for eighth. At his current career scoring average, Orchard would finish with 1, 396 points to make him the school's all-time leading scorer.

Shoot the Moon
Sophomore Colton Moon is off to a fast start this season. The guard is averaging 11.6 points per game this season and has three games in double figures. Moon was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 5 after averaging 18 points and shooting 80 percent from the field in two home wins. He currently leads the team with 17 assists and is 17th in the NAIA with 13 steals.

Robertson Making an Impact
Junior Tallon Robertson is getting more comfortable in the Griffin system. He is scoring 11.6 points per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field. Robertson is second on the team with 25 rebounds, including 11 offensive, while also recording eight steals and three blocks. He has scored in double figures four times and did it in both games in Vegas last weekend.

Microwave Version 22
Blake Skidmore has provided the Griffins with instant offense off the bench this season. The junior is averaging 11 points per game and has scored at least 10 points in a game three times. Skidmore led the team with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Wesmont. He also had 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench against Vanguard.

Starting Fast
Historically the Griffins have been excellent in the first few weeks of the season. Since the program was reinstated in 1999, Westminster is 85-36 (.702) in all games played before Dec. 1. In the past three seasons, Westminster is 21-3 (.875) in November games. The Griffins are 34-7 (.829) in the first month of games dating back to the 2008-09 season.

Creating Scoring Opportunities
The Griffins have been lethal on the defensive end of the floor this season. Westminster opponents are shooting just 42 percent from the field and only 24 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins have created 21.6 turnovers per game and hold a positive 8.4 turnover margin. The team is averaging 25.2 points off turnovers this season while allowing just 12.8 to the opposition.

In the Polls
Westminster is ranked No. 13 in the 2012-13 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced Tuesday. Westminster received 139 points in the poll to sit in a tie for the 13th position with Biola (Calif.). The team has now been ranked in 87 polls all-time and they return to the preseason poll for the first time since starting the 2010-11 season at No. 12. This marks the fourth time the team has been No. 13 or better in the preseason poll in the past six years.

Looking Ahead
The Griffins return home for Thanksgiving Weekend to play host to the annual Westminster Thanksgiving Classic. They begin the festivities on Nov. 23 against No. 20 Cal State San Marcos. That is followed by a game with NCAA DII foe Chadron State (Neb.) on Nov. 24. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. in the Behnken Field House.