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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team returns to the Behnken Field House this week for the ninth Westminster Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday. Westminster will face College of Idaho at 5 p.m. MST on Friday before playing Pacific Union (Calif.) at 6 p.m. MST on Saturday. Montana Tech will play the non-Griffin opponent each night starting two hours before the Westminster game.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Every game of the Thanksgiving Classic will be shown live on Griffins TV. The Westminster games will feature Mike Lageschulte on the play-by-play with Lance Barton as an analyst on Saturday. Both Griffin games will also air on Comcast 6 in northern Utah. Live stats will also be available for the four games with links for all of the live features available by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster returns home at 4-4 on the season after going 1-3 in four games away since they last played at home. They dropped both games at least weekend's Midland Empire Classic, losing two straight in November for the first time since 2009.

The Griffins are 1-1 at home this season after defeating Western State (Colo.) and losing to Azusa Pacific (Calif.) at the Westminster Tipoff Classic earlier this month. Westminster is 12-3 at home dating back to last season and they have won seven of the last nine in the Behnken Field House.

For the season, the Griffins are averaging 70.6 points per game while shooting 41.7 percent from the field. They are off to a slow start from beyond the arc, making just 28.8 percent from deep. Westminster shoots 61.4 percent at the foul line while averaging 10.9 assists per contest.

On the defensive end, Westminster is giving up 73.1 points per game and limiting the opposition to 42.9 percent shooting. In eight games, Griffin opponents are making 36.7 percent from beyond the arc and 67.7 percent at the foul line. Westminster has forced 130 turnovers with 76 steals and 15 blocked shots.

Seniors Tallon Robertson and Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 32.3 points per game. Robertson is scoring 17.7 points per night and is second in the Frontier by collecting 8.17 rebounds per game. Skidmore scores 14.7 points per game and is shooting 43.2 percent from the field. Colton Moon leads the team with 15 assists and 13 steals.

THANKSGIVING CLASSIC NOTES
This marks the ninth time that Westminster has played host to the Thanksgiving Classic. It has been played in each of the past four seasons and started during the 2002 campaign. It wasn't held during the 2003, 2005 and 2008 seasons. The Griffins are 14-2 all-time at the holiday event with both losses coming against College of Idaho (2004 and 2009). Westminster has played C of I four times at the event, the most of any other opponent. The Griffins have won seven straight games during the classic dating back to the 2009 loss to C of I.

RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 16.5 points per game this season and he has been the team's leading scorer in four of the games they have played. Robertson has been in double figures in all eight games and three times gone for at least 20 points. He enters the weekend sixth in the Frontier Conference in scoring average and 41st in the NAIA with 132 total points.

Robertson also is leading the team with 60 rebounds, including 24 on the offensive end. His 7.5rebounds per game rank second in the Frontier and 48th in the NAIA. He is also 27th in the country in total rebounds and 32nd by collecting 3.0 offensive rebounds per night. Robertson has been in double figures in rebounds in three contests and he is tied for the conference lead with three double-doubles.

SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore's transition to the starting lineup this season is off to a blazing start. He ranks second on the team with 122 points and he is shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. Skidmore has scored in double figures six times and twice had at least 20 points. His 15.3 points per game average is tied for eighth in the league.

Skidmore is second among all Griffins with at least 100 minutes played with a .532 effective shooting percentage. His .571 true shooting percentage is also second highest. Both of those percentages take into account three-point field goals and free throws. The senior has made 21-of-27 (.778) at the foul line and has made his last six attempts.

SCORING OFF THE BENCH
Jordan Pryor has made a solid contribution off the bench to start the season. The sophomore is averaging 9.0 points per game in 20.9 minutes per game off the bench. Pryor has gone 11-of-25 from beyond the arc to shoot 44 percent from deep. He has been in double figures in three games with a season-high 16 against Azusa Pacific (Calif.) on Nov. 1.

REBOUNDS A PLENTY
Nick Jenson has been crashing the boards during his 17.4 minutes per game off the bench this season. Jenson is third on the team with 38 rebounds with half of those, 19, coming on the offensive end. He collects 14.1 percent of all available rebounds when he is on the floor and 13.4 percent of available offensive rebounds. The junior is tied for seventh in the Frontier in offensive rebounds .

CLOSING IN ON 50
Head Coach Adam Hiatt enters the week just three wins shy of 50 during his two-plus years as head coach of the Griffins. After starting 4-4, Hiatt now has a career record of 47-23 for a .671 winning percentage. Howard Richardson, Tom Steinke, and Tommy Connor all surpassed 50 wins as head coach at Westminster during their careers. Steinke, a member of the Westminster Hall of Fame, set the school record by earing win No. 50 in just the 69th game he coached.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Griffins will open up Frontier Conference play with a trip to Dillon, Mont. to face eighth-ranked Montana Western on Dec. 7. The game from Straugh Gymnasium will begin at 4 p.m. MST.