Complete Release | PDF

SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team will turn the calendar to 2014 with a pair of Frontier Conference games on the slate this week. Westminster will travel to Helena, Mont. to face Carroll (Mont.) on Thurs. at 7:30 p.m. MST. The Griffins then return to the Behnken Field House to face Montana Tech on Sat. at 7:30 p.m. MST for Family Night where fans can receive four tickets and four hot dogs for $10.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday's game will be streamed live on the web and have live stats available. Saturday's home game will be carried live on Griffins TV and Comcast 6 in northern Utah. Mike Lageschulte will handle the play-by-play with Lance Barton as the analyst. Live stats will also be available for the contest. Links for all of the live features can be found by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster will return to action at 8-6 overall on the season and 1-0 in Frontier Conference play. The Griffins have gone 3-3 in road games this season while posting a 3-1 record at home. The team hasn't played at home since defeating Pacific Union, 88-47, on Nov. 30.

For the season, the Griffins are averaging 70.79 points per game while shooting 43.2 percent from the field. They are struggling from beyond the arc, making just 30.8 percent from deep. Westminster shoots 64.5 percent at the foul line while averaging 10.64 assists per contest.

On the defensive end, Westminster is giving up 68.43 points per game and limiting the opposition to 42.5 percent shooting. Griffin opponents are making 33.6 percent from beyond the arc and 68.7 percent at the foul line. Westminster has forced 244 turnovers with 139 steals and 30 blocked shots.

Seniors Tallon Robertson and Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 30.1 points per game. Robertson is scoring 16.5 points per night and is second in the Frontier by collecting 7.21 rebounds per game. Skidmore scores 13.6 points per game and is shooting 43.6 percent from the field. Colton Moon leads the team with 38 assists and 31 steals.

CREATING EXTRA POSSESSIONS
Westminster has been solid at the defensive end all season and they are currently forcing 17.4 turnovers per game. They rank 11th in the NAIA with 139 total steals and 18th by creating 9.93 steals per contest. Westminster is scoring 16.9 points per game from opponent turnovers which accounts for 23.9 percent of their total offense. The Griffins also place 40th in the country by holding the opposition to 42.5 percent shooting and 24th by allowing just 68.43 points per game.

HALFTIME LEADER IS THE WINNER
In all 14 games the Griffins have played this season the team leading at halftime has gone on to win the game. Westminster is 7-0 when holding the halftime advantage and also won the only game that was tied at intermission. All six Griffin losses have come when the team trails after 20 minutes. Westminster is also 6-0 when leading with 5 minutes to play in regulation and 2-6 when trailing at the 5-minute mark.

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 to rank sixth in the Frontier Conference. He has been the team's leading scorer in seven games while scoring in double figures 12 times. Robertson has scored at least 20 points in five games, including a career-high 31 in the win at Pacific Union on Dec. 20.

Robertson also is leading the team with 101 rebounds, including 34 on the offensive end. His 7.21 rebounds per game rank second in the Frontier. He has been in double figures in rebounds five times and he is second in the Frontier with four double-doubles.

SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore's transition to the starting lineup this season has been a smooth one. He ranks second on the team with an average of 13.64 points per game to rank 13th in the conference. The senior is shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc. Skidmore has scored in double figures nine times and three times scored at least 20 points.

SCORING OFF THE BENCH
Jordan Pryor has made a solid contribution off the bench to start the season. The sophomore is averaging 9.2 points per game in 21.5 minutes per game off the bench. Pryor has gone 17-of-41 from beyond the arc to shoot 41.5 percent from deep. He has been in double figures in seven games with a season-high 22 in the win over College of Idaho on Nov. 29.

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 51-25 overall record for a .671 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. 39 team in the NAIA. According to the ratings, Westminster is the 14th-best defensive team while ranking 81st in offense. They have a power rating of 37th and have played the 14th-rated schedule. The Massey Ratings are created by Kenneth Massey and can be found on the web at www.masseyratings.com.

LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster will return to Montana next weekend for two games. They play at Great Falls (Mont.) on Jan. 11 before facing Montana State-Northern on Jan. 12.