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Men's Basketball

Griffins Look to Climb Frontier Standings with Two Home Games

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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team plays the final two home games of the regular season this week as they host Great Falls (Mont.) on Thursday and No. 20 Montana State-Northern on Saturday. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m. MST from the Behnken Field House. The Griffin senior class will be honored prior to the start of Saturday's game.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both home games this week will be shown live on Griffins TV and also on Comcast 6 in northern Utah. Mike Lageschulte handles the play-by-play and is joined by analyst Lance Barton. Live Stats will also be available for both games this weekend. Links for all of the live features are available by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster begins the week at 15-10 overall this season and they hold the third spot in the Frontier Conference standings with an 8-4 mark in league play. The Griffins sit one-game out of first in the standings, behind Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and MSU-Northern.

On the year, Westminster is scoring 74.76 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field to rank 28th in the NAIA. They are coming off a week that saw them score 200 points and shoot 60 percent from the floor in two victories. The team connects on 35.1 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and 65.4 percent at the foul line. They are handing out 12.68 assists per outing and place seventh in the NAIA with a 4.88 turnover margin.

The Griffins rank 15th in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 69.04 points per game and 49th by limiting opponents to 44.1 percent shooting. Westminster is using a NAIA 14th-best 9.40 steals per game to help force 17.12 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 34 points per game. Robertson is scoring 17.96 points per night and he is sixth in the NAIA by shooting 57.7 percent. Skidmore scores 16.04 points per game and is shooting 44.1 percent from three – 26th in the country. Colton Moon leads the team with 91 assists and is 13th in the nation with 55 steals. Moon also places 16th nationally by grabbing 2.2 steals per game.

OFFENSE IS EFFICIENT
While the Griffins are scoring 74.76 points per game, they have been efficient with their possessions as they are averaging 104.4 points per 100 possessions. Last week, Westminster posted 104 points – tied for second-most in school history – in a win over Dickinson State (N.D.) and then racked up 96 points to defeat Carroll (Mont.). They raised the overall field goal percentage up to 46.8 percent for the year and they are 28th in the country in that department.

STINGY ON DEFENSE
Westminster has been excellent on the defensive end this season and they currently place 15th in the NAIA in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 69.04 points per game. They are giving up 97 points per 100 defensive possessions and forcing opponents into 44.1 percent shooting – 49th in the NAIA. The Griffins rank 14th in the country at 9.40 steals per game and 11th by getting 235 total steals. Westminster is second in the Frontier by blocking 2.48 shots per game with 62 total blocks to rank 41st in the nation.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Westminster's average of 33.4 points per game in the paint accounts for 39.3 percent of the team's total scoring average. They have totaled at least 30 points in the paint during 15 games during the year and six times reached 40 points in the painted area. The Griffins are also getting 18.4 points from opponent turnovers during games which are 21.7 percent of the season average. During last week's home wins, the Griffins outscored the two opponents a combined 61-8 from turnovers, including a 32-2 edge versus Dickinson.

LOOKING AT THE FRONTIER
This season's race for the Frontier Conference regular season title is shaping up to come down to the final day. With four games left in the season, five teams are within two games of the lead. Rocky Mountain and MSU-Northern sit atop the standings at 7-3 with Rocky holding the tiebreaker. Westminster currently sits in third and can clinch the No. 2 spot by winning its final four games. Only Rocky and Northern have clinched one of the six spots in the six-team conference tournament. The Griffins have a magic number of one to secure a spot.

RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 17.96 points per game this season to rank fifth in the Frontier Conference and 36th in the NAIA. He has recorded 12 games with at least 20 points this season and has reached that level in five of the past six outings and seven of nine. Robertson has twice reached his career-best of 31 points this season.

Robertson ranks sixth in the NAIA by shooting 57.7 percent and his 7.0 rebounds per game are 47th nationally. He has pulled down double-digit rebounds on seven occasions with six double-doubles. Robertson is second in the Frontier at 1.12 blocks per game and he leads the league with 28 total blocks. He tied a school record with five blocks in the win against Dickinson State last Thursday.

SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore is second on the team and eighth in the conference by scoring 16.04 points per game. He has been coming on strong as of late, scoring 19 points per game over the last 12 contests. Skidmore has scored in double figures in all 12 of those games; including a career-high 32 in the home game against Rocky Mountain. For the season, Skidmore has been in double figures 20 times with eight 20-point performances. The senior is shooting 44.1 percent from beyond the arc and ranks 26th in the NAIA in that category.

MOON TAKES AND GIVES
Colton Moon ranks second in the Frontier and 16th in the NAIA with an average of 2.2 steals per game. His 55 total steals are 13th-most in the nation and also third in the conference. Moon enters the week needing five steals to tie Michael Stockton's school-record of 60 in a single season. Stockton set the record during the 2010-11 season. Moon also leads the Griffins with 91 assists which place 37th in the country. His average of 3.64 assists per game puts him fifth in the Frontier.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Griffins will close the regular season with road games at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Feb. 20 and Montana Tech on Feb. 22.
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