SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's basketball team made a triumphant return to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference by defeating Colorado Mesa, 68-61, in the conference opener for each team on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.
 
The win is the first RMAC conference win by a Westminster team since the 1978-79 season. It improves the Griffins to 5-0 on the season and puts them 1-0 in league play.
 
It took a career high 22 points and 11 rebounds from Casey Evans, his second 20-point performance of the season, to earn the win. The junior made 8 of 13 shots with three makes from beyond the arc. He also had two blocked shots, one assist, and one steal.
 
The Griffins came out quick and led 13-3 when Isaiah Tademy hit a three with 13:59 on the first half clock. Colorado Mesa (4-3, 0-1 RMAC) countered with an 11-2 spurt over the next four minutes to close within 15-14.
 
After Westminster pushed the lead back to eight, the visitors ran off another 11-2 run and took a 29-28 lead, their first of the game, when Ryan Stephan sunk a free throw with 47 left in the half. Kenny Woodard would send the Griffins into the intermission leading 31-29 with a corner three in the closing seconds of the half.
 
Colorado Mesa led 50-48 with 10:07 to play when Eimer Lopez scored a layup to cap 10 straight points from the Mavericks. The Griffins then got consecutive threes from Zerrion Payton and Woodard to start a 12-0 run to take the lead for good. When Woodard made a pair of free throws with 6:36 remaining, the lead was back to 60-50.
 
CMU would chip away and got as close as 62-60 with 1:40 on the clock, but Westminster went 6 for 6 at the line down the stretch to seal the conference win.
 
Westminster shot 41.2 percent from the field and made 10 of 25 (40 percent) from beyond the arc. They assisted on 18 of their 21 field goals and had a 42-30 edge in the glass. They held CMU to 36.8 percent shooting to help overcome 15 turnovers and a 28-4 edge in points in the paint from the Mavericks.
 
Woodard finished with 14 points and four assists off the bench to lead a 22-11 advantage in bench scoring. Zerrion Payton added six points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Brandon Warr had eight points and Jordan Pryor and Marcus Bryce scored six apiece.
 
Stephan, the RMAC preseason player of the year, finished with 17 points and eight rebounds to lead CMU. Lopez added 15 and CJ Davis scored 12.
 
The Griffins remain at home for two more conference games next weekend. They will face MSU Denver in the Behnken Field House on Friday at 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets for all home games are available at WestminsteRgriffins.com/tickets.