The Westminster men's basketball team will spend the weekend in Colorado as they play a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. The Griffins visit UC Colorado Springs on Friday before a game at MSU Denver on Saturday.
 
Friday's game in Colorado Springs is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. MT tipoff at the Gallogly Events Center. The game on Saturday will begin at 7 p.m. MT from the Auraria Event Center.
 
3 THINGS
>Westminster takes to the road looking to snap a season-long 3-game losing streak
>These two games will be only the third and fourth RMAC road games of the season
>Both of last week's games ended with an identical score of 68-63
 
COVERING THE GRIFFINS
Both of this weekend's game will be broadcast live on Griffins TV. The games are being produced by the home institution. Griffins TV is available online and is optimized for mobile devices in the Game Central portal available at portal.stretchinternet.com/Westminster.
 
Live stats will be available in the Game Central portal at UCCS and at sidearmstats.com/msudenver/mbball for the MSU Denver game.
 
FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER MEN'S BASKETBALL
Make sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube for the latest news about the Griffins. For updates of the game action, make sure to follow @wc_griffins on Twitter.
 
Fans can stay connected with Westminster men's basketball team by following @griffinbasketball on Instagram.
 
ABOUT WESTMINSTER
Westminster begins the week at 7-4 overall and 3-4 in RMAC action. The Griffins have dropped a season-high three straight games and are 1-1 in road games this season. After starting the season 6-0, they are just 1-4 in the past five outings.
 
The Griffins are scoring 69.7 points per game and they rank second in the conference by holding the opposition to 69.2 points per game. They are also second in the RMAC in field goal defense at 41.7 percent and they rank fourth by blocking 3.36 shots per contest.
 
Casey Evans leads four Griffins that average in double figures at 13.3 points per game. Kenny Woodard scores 11.9 points per night while Zerrion Payton and Jordan Pryor score 10.9 and 10.3 per game respectively. Payton leads the team with 69 rebounds and 41 assists. Evans leads the way with 13 steals and Marcus Bryce has a team-best 13 blocked shots.
 
40 YEARS OF HOOPS
This season marks the 40th year of men's basketball at Westminster dating back to the 1956-57 campaign. They played the 1,000 game in school history on November 27 against The Master's. Westminster has compiled a record of 633-375 for a .628 winning percentage. This marks the 17th season of men's basketball since the program was reinstated in 1999. The Griffins have gone 344-166 (.675) in that time and they won seven Frontier Conference championships and made 10 appearances in the NAIA National Championships.
 
FAMILIAR NEW CONFERENCE
Westminster begins the NCAA Division II membership process in the 2015-16 season. The Griffins join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this year, but will not be eligible for postseason play. Westminster was a member of the RMAC from 1967-1979 where they went 109-81 (.574) in conference play and won three conference titles.
 
LOOKING BACK
Westminster returned to action after a holiday break and dropped a 68-63 decision to Black Hills State on Friday night. Westminster only shot 37.7 percent from the floor in the game and they played from behind most of the night. After the game was tied at 8-8 at the 14:35 mark of the first half, Black Hills State led for the next 26:36 of game action. They used an 11-0 run during a 3:41 span of the first half to open a 27-15 advantage.
 
The Griffins would drop a third straight when Black Hills State rallied for a 68-63 overtime victory on Saturday. Westminster finished the game shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and they made just three of their final 11 shots. SDSMT shot 55.6 percent in the second half to help finish the game at an even 50 percent. The visitors also scored 23 points from 15 Griffin turnovers and had a 26-10 edge in points in the paint.
 
ABOUT UCCS
The Mountain Lions start the week at 7-7 overall and 4-3 in league games. They have dropped two straight games after winning four straight before that. UCCS scores 79.9 points per game and they are giving up 77.5 points per game. Alex Welsh is fifth in the conference by scoring 20.1 points per game.
 
ABOUT MSU DENVER
The Roadrunners begin the week with a 7-6 overall record and 5-2 in RMAC play. They had a four-game winning streak come to an end with a loss at Fort Lewis on Saturday. MSU Denver leads the RMAC by holding opponents to 66.5 points per game while scoring 66.2 per game themselves. Tony Dobbinson scores 14.0 points per game to lead the Roadrunners.
 
SERIES NOTES
The Griffins are 1-1 all-time against UCCS and the teams will meet in Colorado Springs for the first time on Friday. UCCS defeated the Griffins, 81-68, on December 12 in Salt Lake City.
 
Westminster is 2-0 all-time against MSU Denver and 1-0 in games played in Denver. The Griffins claimed a 70-67 win over the Roadrunners on December 11 in the Behnken Field House.
 
EVANS SHINES
Casey Evans enters the week as the Westminster leader with 146 points. Evans is shooting 53.1 percent from the floor this season and has gone 16 of 38 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc. He had a career high 22 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Colorado Mesa on December 5. That was his second 20-point game of the season and third in his career.
 
CHASING 1,000
Jordan Pryor will start the week 15th in team history with 868 career points and he is scoring 10.3 points per game this season. He needs to average 8.8 points per game to become the 10th Griffin the reach 1,000 for their career. He also ranks fourth all-time with 152 made threes while placing third with 429 attempts from beyond the arc.
 
STAT SHEET STUFFER
Zerrion Payton has been doing a little of everything for the Griffins this season. The junior is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game and he has led the team in scoring two times. Payton also leads the team with 69 rebounds and 41 assists. He ranks seventh in the RMAC at 3.7 assists per game and 10th in rebounds per game at 6.3. He is one of only two players in the conference to be in the top 10 of those two categories.
 
BENCH PORDUCTION
Kenny Woodard has given the Griffins some punch off the bench this season. The senior is second on the team by scoring 11.9 points per game while playing 26.2 minutes per night off the bench. He has been in double figures seven times, including a career high 25 points against Texas Wesleyan on November 28. Woodard is second on the team with 37 assists and he leads the RMAC by shooting 93.3 percent at the foul line. That would rank eighth in the country if Westminster players were eligible for NCAA rankings.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
It's back to the Behnken Field House for the Griffins next weekend. They welcome Adams State to town on January 15 before hosting Fort Lewis on January 16. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m. MT with tickets available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.