SALT LAKE CITY – Quincy Bair scored a season high 27 points to lead the Westminster men's basketball team in an 86-77 win over Western State Colorado on Friday night in the Behnken Field House.
 
Westminster (10-8, 6-8 RMAC) trailed by one at the half despite 18 points from Bair in the period. Western State (4-16, 3-11) would extend the lead to seven early in the second half with back-to-back threes to open the frame.
 
That lead was at 49-43 with 16:15 to play when the Griffins took control. They used an 11-2 run to a 3-point lead with 12:37 on the clock. Westminster never gave up that advantage and they extended the push to 28-12 to lead 71-61. During the extend run, the Griffins made 10 of 19 from the field and held Western State to 4 of 17 with six turnovers.
 
Bair finished the game 11 of 16 from the floor and he made three of his five attempts from beyond the arc. The 27 points are tied for the most points scored in a game by a Griffin this season. He also collected seven rebounds with one block and one steal in 28 minutes.
 
The Griffins finished the game shooting 49.1 percent from the field. They made 57.7 percent in the second half with six of their 11 misses coming from three. Westminster had a 38-26 edge in scoring in the paint and they out-rebounded the Mountaineers, 42-36.
 
Zerrion Payton added 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals for the Griffins. Casey Evans scored 16 points and led the team with nine rebounds. Payton and Evans combined to score 24 points in the second half.
 
Western State shot 39 percent in the game with 16 assists on 23 baskets. Danny Hopkins led the Mountaineers with 26 points and seven rebounds. Ben Beauchamp added 14 and the duo made six threes combined.
 
Westminster will look for a third straight win on Saturday when they host Colorado State – Pueblo in the Behnken Field House. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT, with tickets available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.