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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team takes to the road this week for a pair of Frontier Conference games. The Griffins visit Dickinson State (N.D.) on Thursday at 7 p.m. MST before facing Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MST.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans will be able to follow the action as both games will be streamed live on the web. There will also be live stats available for the two contests. Links for all of the live features are available by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster returns to the road at 12-9 on the season after splitting two games at home last weekend. After falling to Rocky Mountain, 94-90, the Griffins defeated Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), 86-79, to move into a five-way tie for first place in the Frontier Conference standings. They have gone 7-6 away from home this season and 3-1 in conference road games.

On the year, Westminster is scoring 73.05 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field to rank 47th in the NAIA. The team connects on 33.2 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and 64.9 percent at the foul line. They are handing out 12.38 assists per outing and place eighth in the NAIA with a 4.38 turnover margin.

The Griffins rank 16th in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 68.48 points per game and 40th by limiting opponents to 43.1 percent shooting. Westminster is using a NAIA 15th-best 9.81 steals per game to help force 17.1 turnovers per night while blocking 2.48 shots per contest.

Seniors Tallon Robertson and Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 32.81 points per game. Robertson is scoring 17.52 points per night and he leads the conference by shooting 55.9 percent. Skidmore scores 15.29 points per game and is shooting 41.6 percent from three – 44th in the country. Colton Moon leads the team with 73 assists and is sixth in the nation with 52 steals. Moon also places 10th nationally by grabbing 2.48 steals per game.

OFFENSE IS EFFICIENT
While the Griffins are scoring 73.1 points per game, they have been efficient with their possessions as they are averaging 101.3 points per 100 possessions. They shoot 45.6 percent from the field for the season, and are coming off a second half versus Lewis-Clark State in which they shot 79.2 percent from the floor.  Over the past seven contests, Westminster is shooting 50.3 percent from the floor.

STINGY ON DEFENSE
Westminster has been excellent on the defensive end this season and they currently place 16th in the NAIA in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 68.48 points per game. They are giving up 95.6 points per 100 defensive possessions and forcing opponents into 43.1 percent shooting – 40th in the NAIA. The Griffins rank 15th in the country at 9.81 steals per game and 11th by getting 206 total steals.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Westminster is averaging 31.3 points per game in the paint this season. That account for 42.9 percent of the team's 73.0 scoring average. The Griffins are also getting 17.4 points from opponent turnovers during games which are 23.8 percent of the total. Westminster holds a 54.0 true shooting percentage overall this season, but that goes to 58.7 percent in conference games.

LOOKING AT THE FRONTIER
This season race for the Frontier Conference regular season title is shaping up to come down to the final day. At the halfway point of the season, five teams are tied for the top position with a 5-3 record. The current rankings based on tiebreakers are: Rocky Mountain, MSU-Northern, Great Falls, Westminster and Montana Western. Six teams qualify for the conference tournament with the top two earning a bye into the semi-finals. Lewis-Clark State currently holds the sixth spot, edging out Montana Tech on tiebreakers.

RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 17.52 points per game this season to rank sixth in the Frontier Conference and 41st in the NAIA. He has scored at least 20 points in nine games and twice gone for 31, including in Saturday's win against LC State.

Robertson ranks 14th in the NAIA by shooting 55.9 percent and his 7.33 rebounds per game are 36th nationally. He has pulled down double-digit rebounds on seven occasions with six double-doubles. His 20 blocked shots are 41st-most in the country and he is third in the Frontier at 0.95 blocks per game.

SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore is second on the team and eighth in the conference by scoring 15.29 points per game. He has been coming on strong as of late, scoring 18.5 points per game over the last eight contests. Skidmore has scored in double figures in all eight of those games; including a career-high 32 against Rocky Mountain last Thursday. He has been in double figures 16 times during the season with six 20-point performances.

MOON TAKES AND GIVES
Colton Moon ranks second in the Frontier and 10th in the NAIA with an average of 2.48 steals per game. His 52 total steals are sixth-most in the nation and also second in the conference. He has led the squad in steals 11 times and notched at least three steals in a contest on nine occasions. Moon also leads the griffins with 73 assists which place 36th in the country. His average of 3.48 assists per game ties him for fifth in the Frontier.

LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster returns home to begin the span of the final four home games of the regular season. They welcome Dickinson State to town on Feb. 6 before facing Carroll (Mont.) on Feb. 8. Both games will tip at 7:30 p.m. MST from the Behnken Field House.