SALT LAKE CITY – The 15th-ranked Westminster men's basketball team is playing host to the Westminster Tipoff Classic this weekend in the Behnken Field House. Westminster will play a pair of contests against teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference of NCAA D-II.
 
The Griffins will open play on Friday with a 7 p.m. MT meeting against Colorado State-Pueblo. They will then face Fort Lewis (Colo.) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The 5 p.m. game on Friday pits Montana Western against Fort Lewis while Western will face CSU-Pueblo on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
Tickets for the event are $10 for a single day pass or $15 for a tournament pass. Your ticket includes admission to every game of both the men's and women's Tipoff Classic.
 
On the Web: All four games of the Tipoff Classic will be carried live on Griffins TV with the Westminster games featuring Mike Lageschulte (play-by-play) and Lance Barton (analyst). Griffins TV is available online and on mobile devices and Roku players through the Livestream app. There will also be live stats available for all of the games.
 
Griffin Fast Break: Westminster enters the Tipoff Classic after suffering a 77-61 loss to Colorado School of Mines last Friday in the Behnken Field House. It was the first time that Westminster had lost a season opener since the start of the 2001-02 season. The loss snapped a six-game home winning streak.
 
Against Colorado School of Mines: In the loss to Colorado Mines, Westminster was outscored 44-30 in the second half and they shot just 42.9 percent from the field for the game. The Griffins were led by Jordan Pryor with 20 points on 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. Nick Jenson added 13 points and William Walker had 10 points in his Griffin debut.
 
What's Returning: This year's team returns six players from the previous season, including three starters. The group of returnees combined to average 33.3 points per game last season and they accounted for 45 percent of the team's total scoring. They also grabbed 42.9 percent of the team's total rebounds and also handing out 50.5 percent of the assists while playing 51.6 percent of the total minutes.
 
What's New: The 2014-15 squad welcomes seven newcomers and two redshirts to the roster. That group features five transfers from both the NCAA D-I and junior college levels.
 
In the Polls: Westminster will begin the year with a No. 15 national ranking according to the 2014 - 15 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Griffins received 115 points to sit tied with Dalton State (Ga.).
 
Frontier Favorites: In a poll of the Frontier Conference coaches, Westminster was selected as the favorite to win the conference title this season. They received four first-place votes and finished with 42 total points to take the top spot. Defending regular season and tournament champion Rocky Mountain (Mont.) was picked to finish second after receiving 41 points and two first-place votes. Montana State-Northern and Montana Western each received one first-place vote.
 
Busy Home Slate: Head Coach Adam Hiatt has put together a challenging schedule that features 15 home games and four teams that made the 2014 NAIA National Championships. Eight of those 15 home contests come before the end of 2014, including a span of five straight from Nov. 28 – Dec. 20. The Griffins are 0-1 at home this season after the loss to Colorado Mines on Halloween night.
 
Home Dominance: Westminster has been tough to beat in the Behnken Field House since it opened in 2006. While the Griffins have always been good at home, going 164-31 (.841) since the program was reinstated in 1999, they have compiled a 99-16 (.861) mark in their current home. They had their six-game home winning streak snapped by Colorado Mines in the opener.
 
Performance from Pryor: After scoring a career-high 312 points last season, expectations are high this season for Jordan Pryor. The junior was named the preseason all-conference after being selected as the Frontier Sixth-Man of the Year last season. In the opener against Colorado Miens, Pryor led the Griffins with 20 points as he went 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. He is currently tied for the Frontier lead in points per game and sits second in the NAIA by making 6.0 threes per game.
 
Crashing Jenson: Nick Jenson scored 7.2 points per game last season, but he made his biggest impact on the glass. He finished 11th in the Frontier Conference by pulling down 5.78 rebounds per game last season. Jenson collected 2.28 boards on the offensive end to rank fourth in the league. The senior is 14th in school history with 76 offensive rebounds after pulling down three to go with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting against Mines.
 
Give and Take: Kenny Woodard started at point guard against Mines and finished the game with seven assists and three steals in 14 minutes. The junior is currently fifth in the NAIA is assist average and 22nd in steal average after one game. Woodard struggled shooting the ball in his Westminster debut, going 0-for-7 and missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
 
Bits for Bair: Quincy Bair gave the Griffins a little bit of everything in the loss to Mines. The junior finished with eight points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 29 minutes against the Orediggers. Bair made three of his four field goal attempts and both of his free throws.
 
Walker Debut: William Walker finished with 10 points and five rebounds against Colorado Mines in his Griffin debut. The junior was 5-of-10 from the field with two steals and three offensive rebounds in 13 minutes.
 
Shoot the Moon: Colton Moon begins his senior season among the top 10 in school history in six statistical categories. His 113 career made threes are the sixth-most in school history while he sits seventh with 289 attempted triples. Moon averaged seven points per game last season and led the team with 104 assists and 61 steals. In 15 minutes off the bench in the opener, Moon recorded one steal.
 
Bamgartner off the Bench: Trevor Bamgartner led all reserves with 27 minutes of action against Mines. The junior finished his Griffin debut with two points and two rebounds after making one of his four shot attempts.
 
Follow the Griffins: Fans are encouraged to follow the Westminster men's basketball team on their Instagram and Twitter feeds for fun behind the scenes information from the team. You can also get all of the latest news about the Griffins through the Westminster Athletics social media outlets. You can find all of the social media information at WestminsterGriffins.com.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster will spend next weekend in Las Vegas as they will play two games at the Concordia Las Vegas Tipoff. The Griffins will face No. 1 Vanguard (Calif.) at 7 p.m. MT on Nov. 14 before a 2 p.m. contest with Concordia (Calif.) on Nov. 15. Both games will be played at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nev.