SALT LAKE CITY – The 15th-ranked Westminster men's basketball team put five players in double figures as they opened the Westminster Thanksgiving Classic with an 86-56 win over No. 6 St. Gregory's University (Okla.) on Friday night in the Behnken Field House.
 
Westminster (2-5) never trailed in the contest and the game was only tied at 2-2. They mounted a 14-5 run early in the first half that featured six points from Kenny Woodard on his way to a team-high 15. Nick Jenson made a pair of free throws with 7:03 to play in the half that extended the advantage to its largest of the half at 29-14.
 
Marty Wilkerson sparked an 11-2 spurt from St. Gregory's (4-3) with four points that got them back within 31-25 with 3:17 on the first half clock. They forced the Griffins into five straight misses during the stretch while going 4-of-6 on their end. Westminster then closed the period with nine of the final 11 points with seven going from Jordan Pryor, including a three at the horn.
 
The second half opened with SGU clawing their way back into the game. Wilkerson scored 11 of his game-high 21 points during a 17-9 run over the first 5:09 of the half that got his team within 49-44. The Griffins then took the game over as they outscored the Cavaliers 27-6 over the next 10:36 that was capped with a Casey Evans dunk on the fast break from Woodard.
 
Westminster finished the game shooting a season-high 54.1 percent from the field that was anchored by 65.4 percent after halftime. They were 11-of-25 (44 percent) from beyond the arc and they scored 42 points in the paint. They held SGU to 30 points below their season average and just 34.4 percent shooting. The Cavaliers committed 13 turnovers which resulted in 15 Griffin points and Westminster had 21 assists on 33 field goals.
 
Woodard three rebounds, three assists and one steal to his 15 points. Pryor finished with 13 points while Jenson and Colton Moon had 12 apiece. Jenson added seven rebounds and four assists while William Walker went for 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
 
Wilkerson's 21 came on 9-of-18 shooting and he notched three assists and three steals.
 
The Griffins will close out the Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday when they face No. 3 Cal State San Marcos on 6 p.m. MT. CSU San Marcos defeated Montana Tech in the first game of the night, 72-61, Montana Tech and St. Gregory's will tip at 4 p.m. in the first game of the day.