FULLERTON, Calif. – The Westminster men's basketball team used a stellar defensive effort to defeat Biola, 64-50, on Saturday night in the team's final game at the Mid-November Classic hosted by Hope International University at Darling Pavilion.
 
The 50 points allowed by Westminster (2-0) are the fewest they have given up since January 4, 2014. They held Biola (8-1) to 26.2 percent shooting and only 11 field goals. The Griffins forced 17 turnovers which they turned into 24 points.
 
Westminster finished the game with only 16 field goals and at 40 percent shooting, but they went 28 of 34 at the foul line (85.7 percent). Biola shot 36 free throws and made 23 of them and the Eagles had a 40-25 edge in rebounds with 17 offensive boards.
 
Kenny Woodard and Jordan Pryor led the Griffins with 13 points apiece. Woodard made 5 of 7 from the field and Pryor was perfect on 10 free throw attempts. Brandon Warr added 11 points while Casey Evans scored 10.
 
The Griffins led for most of the night and they took a 23-18 lead into halftime after closing the period with a 7-2 spurt. The lead was 40-39 with 7:52 to play when the Griffins scored eight straight points to start a 16-6 burst over the next five minutes to put the game out of reach.
 
Terrell Funches led Biola with 16 points on 4 of 14 shooting. Dakarai Archer scored 12 points and Trevor Treinen added 10.
 
Westminster will now come home to host the Westminster Thanksgiving Classic next weekend in the Behnken Field House. The Griffins will open the tournament against The Master's College on Friday at 6 p.m. MT. Tickets for the Thanksgiving Classic are available now at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.