COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Looking to snap a three-game losing skid, the Westminster men's basketball team erupted on the offensive end for a 97-93 win at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Friday night.
 
Westminster (8-4, 4-4 RMAC) used a 16-4 run in the first half to turn a three point deficit into a 35-26 lead. The teams hit intermission with the Griffins holding a 40-36 advantage in what set the stage for a high-scoring second half.
 
Both teams scored 57 points in the second half and would shoot above 60 percent from the field in the period. The Griffins only trailed for 36 seconds in the half, but they had to hold off two different runs from UCCS. Westminster had the lead to nine on a Kenny Woodard layup with 12:31 to play before UCCS (7-8, 4-4) began a rally that saw the game level at 70-70 with 7:33 to play.
 
Brandon Warr hit a 3-pointer with just under six minutes remaining to cap eight straight points from the Griffins to open an 81-73 advantage. The lead was again eight after Casey Evans made a pair of free throws with 3:15 on the clock. The Mountain Lions then ran off 10 of the game's next 12 points to draw even.
 
The Griffins took the lead for good with 37 seconds to play on a pair of free throws from Zerrion Payton. Westminster would then get two defensive stops and Jordan Pryor capped his season high scoring night by hitting four free throws to seal the road victory.
 
Westminster made 61.3 percent from the floor in the second half and they finished the game shooting a season-best 52.3 percent. The visitors made 8 of 16 from beyond the arc and connected on 21 of their 26 attempts (80.8 percent) at the foul line.
 
Pryor led five Griffins in double figures with 21 points. Warr added a career high 20 points and collected four of his six rebounds at the offensive end. Woodard hit four 3-pointers to score 19 points while Zerrion Payton and Casey Evans had 18 and 13 points respectively.
 
UCCS finished the game shooting 55.6 percent after making 64.3 percent of their attempts after halftime.  Westminster had a 37-39 edge on the glass with 14 offensive boards for 15 points. The Griffins had 20 assists and 15 turnovers.
 
Three players for UCCS scored at least 20 points in the loss with Alex Welsh leading the way with 26. Dalton Patten had 25 points and Kendall Godley added 20 and 10 rebounds.
 
After avenging their home loss to UCCS, the Griffins will now travel to Denver where they look for the season sweep of MSU Denver on Saturday. The game will tip at 7 p.m. MT from the Auraria Event Center and will be broadcast live on Griffins TV.