Box Score LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 21 Westminster College men's basketball team saw its season-long four-game winning streak come to an end with a 89-83 loss at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Thurs. night in Frontier Conference action.
The loss drops Westminster to 17-11 overall on the season and moves them into third place in the Frontier standings at 10-5 heading into the season finale on Sat. The Griffins could still secure the No. 2 seed with a win and a loss by Montana State-Northern on Friday night when they host Rocky Mountain (Mont.).
Lewis-Clark State (20-9, 7-7 Frontier) used two mini runs in the first half to build an advantage. Leading 20-16 midway through the opening half, the Warriors put together a 8-3 run to build a nine-point advantage. They would then use a 9-2 run to help them carry a 44-36 lead into intermission.
The home squad would put the game away with a 12-4 run in the second half that grew the advantage to 75-57 with just over six minutes to play. The Griffins would try to mount a rally down the stretch, but they had fallen to far behind to get closer than eight in the final moments.
Blake Skidmore would lead five Griffins in double figures with 17 points on a 6-of-13 shooting night.
Nick Jenson would give Westminster a boost with a career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Jordan Pryor also scored 16 points off the bench and
Tallon Robertson finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Griffins shot 49.2 percent from the field and had a 46-26 edge in points in the paint. They held a 38-28 edge on the boards and turned 16 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points. LC State used 11 threes and 50.9 percent shooting to go with a 24-14 advantage in made free throws to secure the win.
E.J. Farris carried much of the load for the Warriors as he finished with 28 points. He went 6-of-12 from the field and made 13 of the 14 free throws he attempted. Robert Ellis added 14 points with Joseph Moquino and Brady Bagby scoring 13 apiece.
Westminster will close the regular season on Sat. when they travel to Butte, Mont. to face Montana Tech. The Griffins must win the 7:30 p.m. MST game to have any shot at the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Frontier Conference Tournament. With a win, Westminster can finish no worse than No. 3 in the standings.
