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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team travels to California this week to play four games in five days. The first two of those comes at the Cal State San Marcos Holiday Classic and begins on Tuesday when the Griffins face Vanguard (Calif.) at 4:30 p.m. MST. Westminster then faces the host Cougars on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. MST in the tournament finale.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Wednesday's game with Cal State San Marcos will be streamed live on the web. There will be live stats available for both of the contests. Links for all live features can be found by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster enters the week at 7-4 overall this season and they sit at 1-0 in Frontier Conference play. They are riding a season-long three-game winning streak after defeating Montana Western, 68-64, in the conference opener on Dec. 7.

For the season, the Griffins are averaging 71.8 points per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the field. They are struggling from beyond the arc, making just 30.1 percent from deep. Westminster shoots 62.9 percent at the foul line while averaging 10.91 assists per contest.

On the defensive end, Westminster is giving up 68.27 points per game and limiting the opposition to 41.2 percent shooting. In 11 games, Griffin opponents are making 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and 69.6 percent at the foul line. Westminster has forced 197 turnovers with 117 steals and 24 blocked shots.

Seniors Tallon Robertson and Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 31.4 points per game. Robertson is scoring 16.3 points per night and is second in the Frontier by collecting 7.55 rebounds per game. Skidmore scores 15.1 points per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field. Colton Moon leads the team with 28 assists and 24 steals.

CREATING EXTRA POSSESSIONS
Westminster has been solid at the defensive end all season and they are currently forcing 17.9 turnovers per game. They rank 11th in the NAIA with 117 total steals and 16th by creating 10.64 steals per contest. Westminster is scoring 17.7 points per game from opponent turnovers which accounts for 24.7 percent of their total offense. The Griffins also place 23rd in the country by holding the opposition to 41.2 percent shooting and 21st by allowing just 68.27 points per game.

RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 16.3 points per game this season and he has been the team's leading scorer in five games. Robertson has been in double figures 10 times and four times he has scored at least 20 points. He enters the week sixth in the Frontier Conference in scoring average and 50th in the NAIA with 179 total points.

Robertson also is leading the team with 83 rebounds, including 30 on the offensive end. His 7.55 rebounds per game rank second in the Frontier and 44th in the NAIA. Robertson is also 38th in the country in total rebounds and 43rd by collecting 2.73 offensive rebounds per night. He has been in double figures in rebounds in four contests and he is second in the Frontier 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 an average of 15.1 points per game. The senior is shooting 46 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from beyond the arc. Skidmore has scored in double figures eight times and three times scored at least 20 points. He currently ranks eighth in the conference in scoring average and 13th in steals per game at 1.55.

SCORING OFF THE BENCH
Jordan Pryor has made a solid contribution off the bench to start the season. The sophomore is averaging 9.8 points per game in 21.3 minutes per game off the bench. Pryor has gone 15-of-35 from beyond the arc to shoot 42.9 percent from deep. He has been in double figures in six games with a season-high 22 in the win over College of Idaho on Nov. 29. Pryor is 20th in the Frontier by making 1.36 treys per game and his .795 free throw percentage is 11th-best in the league.

FOURTH WITH 50
With the win at Montana Western on Dec. 7, head coach Adam Hiatt became the fourth coach in school history to guide the team to 50 victories. In his third season as the head coach, Hiatt has compiled a 50-23 overall record for a .685 winning percentage. He joins Howard Richardson, Tom Steinke and Tommy Connor as coaches to surpass 50 victories as head coach at Westminster. 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.

STARTING TO RECEIVE VOTES
After starting the season at 7-4 and winning at then-No. 8 Montana Western, the Griffins received three points in the first regular season edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on Dec. 10. Westminster was tied for 34th in the poll as they look to re-enter the top 25 for the first time since Feb. 12, 2013.

INSIDE THE COMPUTERS
The latest edition of the Massey Ratings has the Griffins rated as the No. 31 team in the NAIA. According to the ratings, Westminster is the ninth-best defensive team while ranking 74th in offense. They have a power rating of 36th and have played the 27th-rated schedule. The Massey Ratings are created by Kenneth Massey and can be found on the web at www.masseyratings.com.

LOOKING AHEAD
After taking Thursday off, Westminster will play at Pacific Union (Calif.) on Friday in Angwin, Calif. The Griffins will then play San José State on Saturday in an exhibition game with the NCAA DI foe.