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SALT LAKE CITY – The seventh-ranked Westminster College men's basketball is off to Santa Barbara, Calif. for two games at the 37th Annual Tom Byron Classic this weekend. Westminster will play Saint Xavier (Ill.) in the opener on Friday at 4 p.m. They will then face either William Jessup (Calif.) on Saturday at 4 p.m. or the host Westmont (Calif.) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday's opponent will be determined by the results of Friday's games.

Game Coverage
All four games of the Tom Byron Classic will be streamed live online through the Westmont Game Central portal. Westmont will also provide live stats for all of the games. Fans can access the live features in the calendar section at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster will return to play after a 10-day layoff with an 11-1 overall record. The Griffins have won seven straight games dating back to an 88-81 loss against Westmont on Nov. 10 in Las Vegas. Westminster defeated California-Merced, 89-49, in their last game and was awarded a victory over Pacific Union due to forfeit.

The Griffins have gone 6-1 in all games played away from the Behnken Field House this season. They are 4-0 in al road games and 2-1 in neutral site games. Westminster is 3-0 in December and 10-0 when facing a non-ranked opponent. They have a 9-1 record when leading at halftime and sit at 10-0 when leading with five minutes remaining in regulation.

Westminster is scorching the nets for 83.4 points per game this season and rank 14th in the NAIA in that department. The team is shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 37.7 percent from beyond the arc to place 15th and 20th in the country respectively. The Griffins make 7.82 treys per game and record 15.91 assists per game while placing 12th nationally with a 1.21 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The opposition is scoring just 60.3 points per game and the Griffins rank seventh in the NAIA in scoring defense. Westminster holds the opposition to 41 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent from beyond the arc. They are sixth in the country in scoring margin (+20.09) and lead the country in turnover margin (+9.09).

Against the Opposition
Westminster holds a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with St. Xavier. That meeting was a 71-66 win by the Griffins in the Behnken Field House on Nov. 5, 2011. Westminster is undefeated in two meetings with William Jessup. They swept back-to-back games over the Warriors on Dec. 3-4, 2010.

The Griffins are tied in the series against Westmont with two wins apiece. Westmont won an earlier meeting this season, 88-81 in Las Vegas, with Westminster taking an 84-51 win in the previous match-up on Nov. 28, 2009.

Orchard's the Pick
Jake Orchard is once again having a balanced season for the Griffins. The Frontier Conference Preseason Player of the Year is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field. The senior has 39 rebounds (18 offensive), 30 assists and is tied for the team lead with 24 steals. Orchard has scored in double figures eight times this year and is coming off a season0high 26 points in the win over UC Merced.

Join the Club
With 18 points against Vanguard (Calif.) on Nov. 9, Orchard became the ninth Griffin to score 1,000 points for a career. The senior has 1,086 career points entering the weekend to rank eighth in school history. At his current career scoring average of 15.5 points per game, Orchard is on pace to score 1,365 points through the quarterfinals of the Frontier Conference Tournament.

Shoot the Moon
Colton Moon continues to orchestrate the Griffin offense to success. Moon leads the team with 32 assists and averaging 9.4 points per game. The sophomore is shooting 51.8 percent from beyond the arc and ranks fifth in the NAIA in that department. Moon has reached double figures in four games, including back-to-back 18-point performances against Fort Lewis (Colo.) and Western State in November.

Robertson Making an Impact
Tallon Robertson has made a significant impact of the Griffins front line this season. The junior is averaging 10.6 points per game while shooting 61 percent from the floor. Robertson has led the team in scoring in three games and has reached double figures six times. He had his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over College of Idaho on Nov. 17.

Microwave Version 22
Blake Skidmore has provided the Griffins with instant offense off the bench this season. The junior is averaging 10.6 points per game in 21.5 minutes per night off the bench. He is shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 82.8 percent at the foul line. Skidmore also grabs 3.2 rebounds per game and has 17 assists and 17 steals.

Crashing the Glass
Senior Alex Drecksel is the team's leading rebounder at 6.5 boards per contest. He has led the team in rebounds in seven of the 11 games played this year. Drecksel average 2.55 offensive rebounds per game. That total accounts for 39.4 percent of his rebound total. He is currently grabbing 15.8 percent of all available rebounds while he is on the floor.

Creating Scoring Opportunities
Westminster currently leads the NAIA in turnover margin (+9.09) thanks to forcing 22.1 turnovers per game. They are coming up with 12.64 steals to rank sixth in the NAIA. The Griffins score 25.3 points per game from opponent turnovers which accounts for 30.3 percent of the team's 83.4 points per game. In contrast, Griffin opponents are scoring just 9.5 points from turnover per game or just 15.8 percent of their total points.

Atop the Computers
The current edition of the Massey Ratings has Westminster at No. 1 with a rating of 1.05. The official computer ratings of the NAIA give the Griffins a No. 1 power rating and rank them fourth on defense. The ratings also list the team as having played the 46th-ranked schedule and place them 15th in offense.

Looking Ahead
Westminster will take to the road next week for the first Frontier Conference road trip of the season. They begin the week in Lewiston, Idaho on Jan. 3 for an 8:30 p.m. tip against No. 11 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). That will be followed with a Jan. 5 game in Butte, Mont. against Montana Tech at 7:30 p.m.