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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team plays two home games this week in the Behnken Field House. They open on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. MST contest against Rocky Mountain (Mont.). The Griffins then welcome Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) to town for a Saturday game that tips at 7:30 p.m. MST.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both games will be carried live on Griffins TV and will also be shown on Comcast 6 in northern Utah. Mike Lageschulte handles the play-by-play with analyst Lance Barton. Live stats will also be available for both of the games. Links for all of the live features are available by
clicking here.
GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster continues this three-home home stand at 11-8 on the season and 4-2 in Frontier Conference play. They are 4-2 at home during the year and are coming off a 74-65 loss to Montana Western last Sat. in the Behnken Field House. The Griffins are currently tied for the lead in the conference standings with Montana Western and Great Falls (Mont.).
On the year, Westminster is scoring 71.47 points per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field to rank 48th in the NAIA. The team connects on 33.3 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and 64.1 percent at the foul line. They are handing out 12 assists per outing and place 10th in the NAIA with a 4.21 turnover margin.
The Griffins rank 10th in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 66.58 points per game and 32nd by limiting opponents to 42.5 percent shooting. Westminster is using a NAIA 16th-best 9.9 steals per game to help force 17.1 turnovers per night while blocking 2.32 shots per contest.
Seniors
Tallon Robertson and
Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 31.1 points per game. Robertson is scoring 16.58 points per night and is second in the Frontier by collecting 7.63 rebounds per game. Skidmore scores 14.53 points per game and is shooting 41.2 percent from three, 47th in the country.
Colton Moon leads the team with 63 assists and is eighth in the nation with 46 steals. Moon also places 12th nationally by grabbing 2.42 steals per game.
OFFENSE IS EFFICIENT
While the Griffins are scoring just 71.5 points per game, they have been efficient with their possessions as they are averaging 100.2 points per 100 possessions. They shoot 45.3 percent from the field for the season, but they have shot 51.1 percent in the past five games. During that time, Westminster is averaging 73.4 points per game and also shooting 39.1 percent from three.
STINGY ON DEFENSE
Westminster has been excellent on the defensive end this season and they currently place 10th in the NAIA in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 66.58 points per game. They are giving up 94.1 points per 100 defensive possessions and forcing opponents into 42.5 percent shooting – 32nd in the NAIA. The Griffins rank 16th in the country at 9.9 steals per game and 12th by getting 188 total steals.
HALFTIME LEADER IS THE WINNER
The Griffins have played 19 games this season and in all but one of them the tea leading at halftime would go on to win the game. Westminster holds a 10-1 mark when leading after 20 minutes and they also won the only game this season that was tied at intermission. The Griffins are also 9-0 on the year when leading with five minutes to play in regulation and 2-8 when they trail at the five-minute mark.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Westminster is averaging 31.1 points per game in the paint this season. That account for 43.5 percent of the team's 71.5 scoring average. The Griffins are also getting 17.4 points from opponent turnovers during games which are 24.3 percent of the total. Westminster holds a 53.4 true shooting percentage overall this season, but that goes to 58.5 percent in conference games.
RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior
Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 16.58 points per game this season to rank seventh in the Frontier Conference. He scored 21 points in the loss at UGF before scoring 24 in the upset of then-No. 15 Montana State-Northern. Robertson has scored in double figures 16 times and reached the 20-point plateau seven times.
Robertson ranks 13th in the NAIA by shooting 56.1 percent and his 7.63 rebounds per game are 34th nationally. He has pulled down double-digit rebounds on seven occasions with six double-doubles. His 16 blocked shots are 48th-most in the country and he is third in the Frontier at 0.84 blocks per game.
SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore is second on the team and ninth in the conference by scoring 14.53 points per game. He has been coming on strong as of late, scoring 17.2 points per game over the last six contests. Skidmore has scored in double figures in all six of those games; including 22 at Carroll (Mont.) on Jan. 2 and a season-high 23 at MSU-Northern on Jan. 11. He has been in double figures 14 times during the season with five 20-point performances.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Griffins spend next week on the road for the second-to-last road trip of the season. They visit Dickinson State (N.D.) on Thursday at 7 p.m. MST before playing at Rocky Mountain on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MST.
