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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team hits the road for two games this week. The trip begins on Thursday at Dickinson State (N.D.) in a non-conference contest at 7 p.m. at Scott Gymnasium. On Saturday, the 22nd-ranked Griffins travel to Billings, Mont. for a 7:30 p.m. tip against Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in the Fortin Center.

Game Coverage
Both games of the trip will be streamed live online courtesy of the respective home schools. They will also have live stats available for both of the games. Links for all of the live features can be found in the calendar section at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster hits the road at 16-4 overall this season and 4-3 in Frontier Conference games. They have won three straight games after defeating Dickinson State, 92-52, and Carroll (Mont.), 95-62, at home last week. They slipped three positions in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll to No. 22 despite the two wins.

The Griffins are 8-3 away from home this season and 5-2 in road games. They have lost two straight on the road entering the week after six straight wins away from the Behnken Field House. Westminster is 8-0 this season when shooting 50 percent from the field or better and 12-3 when leading at halftime. They have a 14-1 record when leading with five minutes to play in the game.

At 81.63 points per game, Westminster ranks second in the Frontier and 16th in the NAIA. They shoot 47.5 percent from the floor to rank 17th in the country and they place 33rd from beyond the arc at 35.7 percent. The team shoots 70.2 percent at the line (27th) and makes 6.84 treys per outing (40th). The Griffins are seventh in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.25 and are 16th in assists at 15.53.

The opposition is averaging 62.95 points per game and shooting just 42.6 percent from the field. The Griffins are 12th and 40th in the NAIA in each of those categories respectively. They have held 13 opponents to less than 70 points this season, including each of the last three. Westminster forced 21.7 turnovers per game and leads the NAIA in turnover margin at 9.05. They also rank sixth in steals at 12.21 per game and 23rd in rebound defense allowing just 33.53.

Against the Opposition
Westminster is 2-0 all-time against Dickinson State. The first meeting in the series was a 59-56 win by the Griffins on Oct. 31, 2008 in Dillon, Mont. The Griffins won the meeting last Thursday, 92-52, in the Blue Hawks first-ever trip to Salt Lake City.

The Griffins have gone 25-8 all-time against Rocky Mountain and they have won two straight and nine of the last 10. Westminster has won three straight in Billings and last lost in the Fortin Center on Jan. 24, 2009, 78-65.

Winning 300
The 92-52 win over DSU last Thursday was the 300th by the program since it was reinstated for the 1999-2000 season. Westminster has a 301-129 record in the 14 years they have played since reinstatement for a .700 winning percentage. The team has won at least 20 games in 11 of the 13 seasons, including 10 straight, and won seven Frontier Conference championships. Westminster has been to the NAIA National Championships nine times since 1999 and has 12 NAIA All-Americans.

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 and he has scored in double figures in 13 games this season. He shoots 48.5 percent from the field and leads the team with 52 assists and 40 steals. Orchard's 2.11 steals per game rank 33rd in the NAIA and he is 28th with 40 total steals.

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 1,192 career points entering the weekend to rank seventh in school history. At his current career scoring average of 15.3 points per game, Orchard is on pace to score 1,345 points through the team's first game of the Frontier Conference Tournament. He is also third all-time at Westminster with 137 career steals. Orchard needs to average 19.3 points and 2.8 steals per game over the team's remaining 10 games on the schedule to become the school's all-time leader in each category.

Into the Lineup
Blake Skidmore has transitioned to the starting with three games in double figures in the last four games he has started. The junior is second on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game and he is shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. He came off the bench in 14 of the team's first 15 games and averaged 10.4 points per game in those contests. In five games as a starter, Skidmore is averaging 13.2 points per game and shoots 46 percent from the floor.

Robertson Making an Impact
Tallon Robertson has made a significant impact of the Griffins front line this season. The junior is averaging 10.7 points per game while shooting 55.5 percent from the floor. Robertson has led the team in scoring in five games and has reached double figures 10 times. He led the team with 16 points while shooting 8-fo-8 from the floor against Carroll on Saturday. Robertson has two double-doubles and his career-high 21 points over Saint Xavier led him to MVP honors at the Tom Byron Classic.

Crashing the Glass
Senior Alex Drecksel is the team's leading rebounder at 5.84 rebounds per game. He ranks ninth in the Frontier in rebounding and third in the league by grabbing 2.74 offensive rebounds per night. Drecksel grabs 14.4 percent of all available rebounds while he is on the floor with a 13 percent on the offensive end. His 52 offensive rebounds rank 13th in school history for a season and he needs to average 3.3 per game over the remaining 10 games on the schedule to set the school record. He is eighth in team history with 116 career offensive rebounds.

Creating Scoring Opportunities
Westminster currently leads the NAIA in turnover margin (+9.05) thanks to forcing 21.7 turnovers per game. They are coming up with 12.21 steals a night to rank sixth in the NAIA. The Griffins score 24.2 points per game from opponent turnovers which accounts for 29.7 percent of the team's 81.6 points per game. In contrast, Griffin opponents are scoring just 9.7 points from turnover per game or 15.4 percent of their total points.

Massey Ratings
The Griffins moved up one position to No. 6 in the current edition of the Massey Ratings. They hold a rating of 0.82 and are the top rated team from the Frontier Conference. They sit at No. 2 in the power rating and place 15th in offense and 13th in defense. The ratings show the Griffins as having played the 11th-toughest schedule so far this season.

Frontier Conference Tournament
The 2013 Frontier Conference Tournament will be played from Feb. 27–Mar. 5 at the home site of the highest seed in each game. The top six teams in the final conference standings qualify for the tournament with the top two teams receiving a bye into the semi-finals. Entering the week, Westminster sits in the No. 4 position and would host Montana Western in a quarterfinal game on Feb. 27 in the Behnken Field House. Complete tournament information can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com/playoffs.

Looking Ahead
Westminster returns to the Behnken Field House for Hall of Fame Weekend next week. They begin the week on Jan. 31 with the rematch against Rocky Mountain. After the Athletic Hall of Fame Celebration and Senior Student-Athlete Recognition takes place on Feb. 1, the Griffins host Lewis-Clark State on Feb. 2.