SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's basketball team stayed unbeaten on the season with a 70-67 win over MSU Denver in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action in the Behnken Field House on Friday night.
 
"It went about how we thought it would," Westminster head coach Norm Parrish said of the game. "They are a good physical team, but we adjusted and took care of the boards and that was a major factor."
 
Westminster (6-0, 2-0 RMAC) was able to hold off the preseason favorite in the conference by shooting 45.8 percent from the field. They overcame 17 turnovers by holding MSU Denver (3-5, 1-1) to 33.9 percent shooting and by making 19 of 27 (70.4 percent) at the foul line.
 
"I thought we guarded them pretty well," Parrish said of holding MSU Denver to 33.9 percent shooting. "Then, when we ran our stuff on the offensive end we were able to get some open looks."
 
It was a strong defensive effort from the Griffins in the first half as they limited the Roadrunners to just eight baskets and 28.6 percent shooting in the period. Westminster closed the half with the final nine points, including five from Zerrion Payton, to take a 30-21 lead into the intermission.
 
They would maintain the lead the rest of the night and pushed it to 54-43 on a Jordan Pryor three with 9:11 to play. MSUD would get back within four on four different occasions in the second half, but the Griffins were able to hold them back. The final deficit hit three on a last second three from the visitors.
 
The Griffins controlled the boards and finished with a 42-31 edge on the glass. They scored 16 points from 10 offensive rebounds while limiting MSUD to only two points in 11 offensive boards. Westminster had a 24-16 edge in the paint and got 27 points from the bench.
 
Kenny Woodard sparked that bench effort with a team high 14 points. He made a pair of threes and was 6 of 6 at the foul line. Woodard also grabbed four rebounds and had two assists and one steal.
 
Pryor scored 12 points with three hits from beyond the arc. Payton added 11 points and a game high nine rebounds while Marcus Bryce scored 10 points. Casey Evans grabbed eight boards and had five assists.
 
Tony Dobbinson led MSU Denver with 23 points on 7 of 16 shooting and five triples. DeShawn Phenix and Jourdon Hunter added 11 points apiece in defeat.
 
Westminster will look to extend its third-best start in team history on Saturday when they host UC Colorado Springs. The action will tip at 7:30 p.m. MT from the Behnken Field House with tickets available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.