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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team will open the Frontier Conference season with a game against No. 8 Montana Western on Sat. in Dillon, Mont. The lone game of the week and only conference game until January for the Griffins will take place in Straugh Gymnasium at 4 p.m. MST.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Saturday's game will be streamed live on the web with Wally Feldt providing the play-by-play on the UMW broadcast. Live stats are also going to be available during the game. Links for all live features can be found by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster begins league play with a 6-4 record to open the year. They have gone 3-3 in games away from Behnken Field House with a 1-2 mark in true road games. The Griffins are coming off a Westminster Thanksgiving Classic title in which they claimed home victories over College of Idaho and Pacific Union (Calif.).

For the season, the Griffins are averaging 72.2 points per game while shooting 42.4 percent from the field. They are off to a slow start from beyond the arc, making just 29.1 percent from deep. Westminster shoots 62 percent at the foul line while averaging 10.7 assists per contest.

On the defensive end, Westminster is giving up 68.7 points per game and limiting the opposition to 41.2 percent shooting. In 10 games, Griffin opponents are making 34.2 percent from beyond the arc and 68 percent at the foul line. Westminster has forced 183 turnovers with 109 steals and 21 blocked shots.

Seniors Tallon Robertson and Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 30.6 points per game. Robertson is scoring 15.4 points per night and is second in the Frontier by collecting 7.8 rebounds per game. Skidmore scores 15.2 points per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field. Colton Moon leads the team with 24 assists and 21 steals.

CREATING EXTRA POSSESSIONS
Westminster has been solid at the defensive end all season and they are currently forcing 18.3 turnovers per game. They rank seventh in the NAIA with 109 total steals and 16th by creating 10.9 steals per contest. Westminster is scoring 17.9 points per game from opponent turnovers which accounts for 22.3 percent of their total offense. The Griffins also place 29th in the country by holding the opposition to 41.2 percent shooting and 24th by allowing just 68.7 points per game.

RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 15.4 points per game this season and he has been the team's leading scorer in five of the games they have played. Robertson has been in double figures nine times and three times gone for at least 20 points. He enters the weekend seventh in the Frontier Conference in scoring average and 43rd in the NAIA with 154 total points.

Robertson also is leading the team with 78 rebounds, including 29 on the offensive end. His 7.8 rebounds per game rank second in the Frontier and 36th in the NAIA. He is also 21st in the country in total rebounds and 33rd by collecting 2.9 offensive rebounds per night. Robertson 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 152 points and he is shooting 47 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. Skidmore has scored in double figures seven times and three times scored at least 20 points. His 15.2 points per game average is ninth in the league.

SCORING OFF THE BENCH
Jordan Pryor has made a solid contribution off the bench to start the season. The sophomore is averaging 9.6 points per game in 20.9 minutes per game off the bench. Pryor has gone 11-of-30 from beyond the arc to shoot 36.7 percent from deep. He has been in double figures in five games with a season-high 22 in the win over College of Idaho on Nov. 29.

CLOSING IN ON 50
Head Coach Adam Hiatt enters the week just one win shy of 50 during his two-plus years as head coach of the Griffins. After starting 6-4, Hiatt now has a career record of 49-23 for a .681 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
Westminster will return to action on Dec. 17 against Vanguard (Calif.) when they begin a stretch of four games in five days.