SALT LAKE CITY – The 15th-ranked Westminster men's basketball team opened the Westminster Tipoff Classic with a 91-80 loss to Colorado State-Pueblo on Friday night in the Behnken Field House.
 
The loss drops Westminster to 0-2 on the season with both losses coming to members of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference of NCAA D-II. CSU-Pueblo counted tonight's game as an exhibition.
 
CSU-Pueblo used an early 14-2 run over a three-minute span to jump out to the 18-8 lead less than five minutes into play. The Griffins would trail for much of the first half, but they had a 15-6 stretch that put them ahead 44-39 with just under one minute to play in the half.
 
The ThunderWolves scored the final five points of the half and then the first 10 of the second half to build a 10-point cushion they would never relinquish. The Griffins had it to one at 54-53 with 15:51 to play only to see the visitors answer with 15 of the game's next 20 points.
 
Westminster finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field and they made 13 threes on 24 attempts. The difference was the 44 points in the paint by CSU-Pueblo and their 23 points from 18 Griffin turnovers. CSU-Pueblo shot 50.8 percent from the floor and scored 16 fast break points.
 
Quincy Bair and Jordan Pryor led the Griffins with 18 points apiece. They combined to shoot 13-of-23 from the floor with six rebounds and five assists. Kenny Woodard added 16 points, four assists and one steal. Trevor Bamgartner hit 3-of-4 from three to finish with nine points.
 
All five starter for the ThunderWolves scored in double figures with Bronson Moton leading the way with 20. He also pulled nine rebounds with four assists and four steals. Rico Spikes added 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
 
The Griffins will close the Tipoff Classic on Saturday night at 7 p.m. MT when they face another RMAC team in Fort Lewis (Colo.). That game will follow a match-up between Montana Western, an 89-80 loser to Fort Lewis on Friday, and CSU-Pueblo at 5 p.m.