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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team begins a four-game home stand with a pair of games during Hall of Fame Weekend. The Griffins begin the week against Dickinson State (N.D.) on Thursday and then face Carroll (Mont.) on Saturday. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m. MST at the Behnken Field House.
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
visiting here.
GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster begins the week at 13-10 overall this season and they are tied for third in the Frontier Conference standings with a 6-4 mark in league play. The Griffins sit one-game out of first in the standings, behind Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Montana State-Northern.
On the year, Westminster is scoring 72.56 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field to rank 43rd in the NAIA. The team connects on 33.3 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and 64.1 percent at the foul line. They are handing out 11.96 assists per outing and place seventh in the NAIA with a 4.56 turnover margin.
The Griffins rank 18th in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 68.78 points per game and 45th by limiting opponents to 43.4 percent shooting. Westminster is using a NAIA 15th-best 9.65 steals per game to help force 17.1 turnovers per night while blocking 2.44 shots per contest.
Seniors
Tallon Robertson and
Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 33.14 points per game. Robertson is scoring 17.44 points per night and he leads the conference by shooting 56.1 percent. Skidmore scores 15.70 points per game and is shooting 42.5 percent from three – 37th in the country.
Colton Moon leads the team with 78 assists and is ninth in the nation with 52 steals. Moon also places 16th nationally by grabbing 2.26 steals per game.
OFFENSE IS EFFICIENT
While the Griffins are scoring 72.56 points per game, they have been efficient with their possessions as they are averaging 101.1 points per 100 possessions. While the team is shooting 45.5 percent from the field, they are averaging 32.0 points in the paint per game. The Griffins have a 53.8 true shooting percentage which takes into account 3-point shooting and free throw percentage.
STINGY ON DEFENSE
Westminster has been excellent on the defensive end this season and they currently place 18th in the NAIA in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 68.78 points per game. They are giving up 96.4 points per 100 defensive possessions and forcing opponents into 43.4 percent shooting – 45th in the NAIA. The Griffins rank 15th in the country at 9.65 steals per game and 12th by getting 222 total steals. Westminster is second in the Frontier by blocking 2.44 shots per game with 56 total blocks to rank 44th in the nation.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Westminster's average of 32.0 points per game in the paint accounts for 44.1 percent of the team's total scoring average. They have totaled at least 30 points in the paint during 14 games during the year and five times reached 40 points in the painted area. The Griffins are also getting 17.2 points from opponent turnovers during games which is 23.7 percent of the 72.6 total scoring average of the team.
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 six games left in the season, five teams are within one game of the lead. Rocky Mountain and MSU-Northern sit atop the standings at 7-3 with Rocky holding the tiebreaker. Great Falls and Montana Western are tied with the Griffins at 6-4 with UGF holding the edge for third and UMW taking the advantage for fourth. No team has clinched one of the six spots for the Frontier Conference Tournament as we enter the final three weeks of the regular season.
RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior
Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 17.44 points per game this season to rank sixth in the Frontier Conference and 41st in the NAIA. He has scored at least 20 points in 10 games and twice gone for a career high 31 in a game.
Robertson ranks 11th in the NAIA by shooting 56.1 percent and his 7.04 rebounds per game are 46th nationally. He has pulled down double-digit rebounds on seven occasions with six double-doubles. His 22 blocked shots are the 36th-most in the country and he is second in the Frontier at 0.96 blocks per game.
SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore is second on the team and eighth in the conference by scoring 15.70 points per game. He has been coming on strong as of late, scoring 18.8 points per game over the last 10 contests. Skidmore has scored in double figures in all 10 of those games; including a career-high 32 in the home games against Rocky Mountain. He has been in double figures 18 times during the season with seven 20-point performances.
MOON TAKES AND GIVES
Colton Moon ranks second in the Frontier and 16th in the NAIA with an average of 2.26 steals per game. His 53 total steals are ninth-most in the nation and also third in the conference. He has led the squad in steals 11 times and notched at least three steals in a contest on nine occasions. Moon enters the week needing seven 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 78 assists which place 40th in the country. His average of 3.39 assists per game puts him sixth in the Frontier.
LOOKING AHEAD
The final two home games of the regular season come next week and start against Great Falls (Mont.) on Feb. 13. Montana State-Northern then comes to town for Senior Day on Feb. 15. Both games will tip at 7:30 p.m. MST from the Behnken Field House.