THIS WEEK
The Westminster men's basketball team will play the first two of four straight road games this weekend in New Mexico. The Griffins visit New Mexico Highlands on Friday at 7 p.m. in Las Vegas, N.M. They will then play at Western New Mexico on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Silver City, N.M.
 
3 THINGS
>This four-game road trip is the longest of the season for the Griffins
>Westminster swept a conference weekend for the first time since joining the RMAC last weekend
>The Griffins are 3-3 on the road this season and they have split every trip this season
 
COVERING THE GRIFFINS
Both of this week's games will be carried on Griffins TV. The video feed is being produced by the host 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 on Friday and at wnmumustangs.com/custompages/livestats/xlive.htm on Saturday.
 
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 will begin the week at 11-8 overall and 7-8 in RMAC play. They are on a three-game winning streak, their longest since early December, and are currently tied for ninth in the conference standings. The Griffins are 3-3 on the road during the year.
 
The Griffins rank 11th in the RMAC by scoring 72.0 points per game and they are fourth in the league by holding the opposition to 72.3 points per night. The team is shooting 44.4 percent from the field and they are third in the RMAC in holding opponents to 42.3 percent shooting. Westminster is sixth in the league by making 74.1 percent at the foul line.
 
Three Griffins are averaging in double figures on the season with Casey Evans leading the way at 13.2 points per game. Zerrion Payton is scoring 12.8 points per night and he leads the Griffins with 123 rebounds and 80 assists. Kenny Woodard scores 10.8 points per game.
 
Payton ranks second in the RMAC by posting 4.2 assists per game and sixth by grabbing 4.8 defensive rebounds per night. Marcus Bryce leads the team with 19 blocked shots and he is eighth in the league at 1.0 blocks per game.
 
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 637-379 for a .627 winning percentage.
 
LOOKING BACK
Westminster outscored Western State by 10 in the second half and took an 86-77 win on Friday night. The Griffins shot 57.7 percent in the second half and had 38 points in the paint. Quincy Bair scored a season-high 27 points and Zerrion Payton and Casey Evans had 18 and 16 respectively.
 
The Griffins then completed a weekend sweep of conference games for the first time this season with an 89-75 win over CSU-Pueblo on Saturday. Westminster shot a season-high 60.4 percent in the game with 22 assists on 32 baskets. Evans scored a career high 23 points with Payton adding 16 and eight assists.
 
ABOUT NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
The Cowboys begin the week at 11-10 overall and they are 10-5 in RMAC play. They have lost three straight games after starting conference play at 10-2. NMHU is 6-1 at home this season and they average 82.8 points per game on the year. Jonathon Mines averages 21.8 points per game to rank third in the conference and averages 3.4 treys per game.
 
ABOUT WESTERN NEW MEXICO
The Mustangs start the week with a 1-19 overall mark and they are 1-14 in conference action. They have lost four straight contests after snapping a 15-game losing streak by defeating Chadron State on January 16. Willie McCray leads the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game with Emery Range and Steven Loucks adding 9.7 per game.
 
SERIES NOTES
Westminster will play both New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico for the first time this weekend.
 
EVANS SHINES
Casey Evans enters the week as the Westminster leader with 251 points. He is shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and has gone 25 of 63 (39.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Evans has scored at least 20 points in a game four times this season and he had a career high 23 points in the win over CSU-Pueblo on January 30. Last month, Evans became the first Griffin men's basketball player to be named to the RMAC All-Academic First Team.
 
CHASING 1,000
Jordan Pryor will start the week 13th in team history with 902 career points and he is scoring 9.8 points per game this season. He needs to average 14.0 points per game to become the 10th Griffin the reach 1,000 for their career. He also ranks fourth all-time with 153 made threes while placing third with 440 attempts from beyond the arc.  Pryor leads the RMAC by shooting 90.2 percent at the foul line.
 
STAT SHEET STUFFER
Zerrion Payton has been doing a little of everything for the Griffins this season. The junior is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game and he has led the team in scoring five times. Payton also leads the team with 123 rebounds and 80 assists. He ranks second in the RMAC at 4.2 assists per game. Payton is one of only two players in the league to rank in the top-15 in rebounds, assists, and steals.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster completes its four-game road swing with two games in South Dakota next weekend. The Griffins play at South Dakota Mines on February 12 and then Black Hills State on February 13.