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SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 21 Westminster College men's basketball team looks to secure a top-two finish in the Frontier Conference as they close the regular season with two road games this week. Westminster plays at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Thurs. at 8:30 p.m. MST and Montana Tech on Sat. at 7:30 p.m. MST.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both road games this week will be streamed live on the web. The Lewis-Clark State game is best viewed on Internet Explorer browsers. Saturday's game at Montana Tech is available on a pay-per-view for $7. Live stats will also be available for both of the games. Links for all of the live features are available by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster starts the week at 17-10 overall and riding a season-long four-game winning streak. The Griffins are tied for second in the Frontier Conference race with No. 18 Montana State-Northern at 10-4. Westminster holds the tiebreaker and carries a magic number of two to clinch a top-two seed and a bye into the semi-finals of the upcoming Frontier Conference Tournament.

On the year, Westminster is scoring 73.63 points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field to rank 28th in the NAIA. The team connects on 34.6 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and 65.8 percent at the foul line. They are handing out 12.41 assists per outing and place sixth in the NAIA with a 4.96 turnover margin.

The Griffins rank 13th in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 67.93 points per game and 46th by limiting opponents to 43.7 percent shooting. Westminster is using a NAIA 17th-best 9.07 steals per game to help force 16.85 turnovers per night while blocking 2.70 shots per contest.

Seniors Tallon Robertson and Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 33.33 points per game. Robertson is scoring 17.74 points per night and he is sixth in the NAIA by shooting 56.8 percent. Skidmore scores 15.59 points per game and is shooting 42.6 percent from three – 34th in the country. Colton Moon leads the team with 93 assists and is 15th in the nation with 57 steals. Moon also places 18th nationally by grabbing 2.11 steals per game.

LOOKING AT THE FRONTIER
This season's race for the Frontier Conference regular season title will come down to the final day. With two games left in the season, three teams are within one game of the lead. Rocky Mountain sits atop the table at 11-3 with Westminster and MSU-Northern one-game back at 10-4. The Griffins hold the tiebreaker and need two wins or one win and a Northern loss to secure a bye into the tournament semi-finals. With two wins and two Rocky losses the Griffins would clinch the regular season title.

OFFENSE IS EFFICIENT
While the Griffins are scoring 73.63 points per game, they have been efficient with their possessions as they are averaging 104.4 points per 100 possessions. The Griffins are shooting 46.6 percent from the floor this season to rank 28th in the NAIA and they tally 12.41 assists per night to rank 38th in the country. They have a 1.04 assist-to-turnover ratio and their 4.96 turnover margin is sixth-best in the NAIA.

STINGY ON DEFENSE
Westminster has been excellent on the defensive end this season and they currently place 13th in the NAIA in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 67.93 points per game. They are giving up 96.8 points per 100 defensive possessions and forcing opponents into 43.7 percent shooting – 46th in the NAIA. The Griffins rank 17th in the country at 9.07 steals per game and 13th by getting 245 total steals. Westminster also leads the Frontier by blocking 2.70 shots per game with 73 total blocks to rank 38th in the nation.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Westminster's average of 33 points per game in the paint accounts for 39.8 percent of the team's total scoring average. They have totaled at least 30 points in the paint during 16 games during the year and six times reached 40 points in the painted area. The Griffins are also getting 17.9 points from opponent turnovers during games which are 21.6 percent of the season average.

20 WITHIN REACH
The Griffins enter this week's action just three wins shy of 20 for a 12th consecutive season. That is the longest active streak in the Frontier Conference. Since the men's basketball program was reinstated in 1999, Westminster has complied 12 seasons with at least 20 wins and gone a combined 324-143 (.694) overall with only one season in which they finish under .500.

RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 17.74 points per game this season to rank fifth in the Frontier Conference and 39th 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 eight outings and seven of 11. Robertson has twice reached his career-best of 31 points this season.

Robertson ranks sixth in the NAIA by shooting 56.8 percent and his 7.22 rebounds per game are 43rd nationally. He has pulled down double-digit rebounds on eight occasions with seven double-doubles. Robertson leads the Frontier at 1.33 blocks per game – 28th in the NAIA – and he is 22nd nationally with 36 total blocks. His 36 total blocks rank third for a single season in school history and he is second all-time with 56 career blocks.

SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore is second on the team and 11th in the conference by scoring 15.59 points per game. He has scored in double figures 21 times and reached the 20-point mark in eight contests. Skidmore is averaging 17.4 points per game during league play. For the season, Skidmore is 34th in the nation by making 42.6 percent from beyond the arc with his 58 made threes placing 15th in school history for a single season.

MOON TAKES AND GIVES
Colton Moon ranks second in the Frontier and 18th in the NAIA with an average of 2.11 steals per game. His 57 total steals are 15th-most in the nation and also third in the conference. Moon enters the week needing three 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 93 assists which place 44th in the country. His average of 3.44 assists per game puts him sixth in the Frontier.

LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster has secured a home game during the Frontier Conference Tournament. That game will take place on Feb. 28 or March 7 depending on where the team finishes in the conference standings. Regardless of the date, the game will begin at 7 p.m. MST in the Behnken Field House.