BUTTE, Mont. – The Westminster men's basketball team saw its season come to an end on a buzzer-beater from Paul Engstrom that gave Montana Tech an 80-79 win on Saturday night at Sampson Court.
 
Westminster end the year at 11-16 overall and 4-10 in Frontier Conference action. This is the second time in conference play they lost on a last second shot and the sixth loss by seventh conference loss by seven points or less.
 
The highlight of the night for Westminster is that senior Colton Moon recorded four steals in the game and he became the school's all-time leader with 167 steals as a Griffin. This was his 10th game this season with at least three steals and the 24th time he has done that in his career.
 
The Griffins shot 45.8 percent from the field on Saturday and they were 8-of-16 from beyond the arc. They also tallied 14 assists on 27 field goals with only seven turnovers. It was the defense that failed them as Montana Tech (15-13, 6-8 Frontier) shot 60.5 percent from the floor and made 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) at the foul line.
 
Westminster led for most of the first half, including a five-point advantage on multiple occasions in the period. They took a 40-36 lead into intermission after Trevor Bamgartner hit a three with 15 seconds remaining in the half. Montana Tech led 48-46 less than six minutes into the second half before another Bamgartner three and a William Walker layup put the Griffin back in front by three.
 
Montana Tech used a 12-5 spurt later in the half to open its largest lead of the night, 72-65, with 4:51 to play. The Griffins responded with 14 of the next 20 points that ended with Nick Jenson scoring in close with 10 seconds remaining and the Griffins leading 79-78. The ensuing Montana Tech possession ended with Engstrom hitting a jumper as time expired for the victory.
 
Four players scored in double figures for the Griffins with Jordan Pryor leading the way with 17 points. He was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and grabbed three rebounds. Kenny Woodard added 16 points off the bench, hitting all six of his free throws to finish the year shooting a school-record 89.6 percent from the stripe. Jenson and Quincy Bair finished 13 points apiece and Bamgartner had eight with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Engstrom led Tech with 18 points off the bench after going 5-of-7 from the field and 8-of-8 at the line. Trent Thompson scored 17 points while Adam Greger and Brandon Rydberg had 15 and 13 respectively.