SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's basketball team won its third straight game with a 66-53 decision over South Dakota Mines on Friday night in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
 
Westminster (8-6, 8-4 RMAC) used a solid defensive effort to match its season-long winning streak. They held South Dakota Mines (10-10, 6-8 RMAC) to 33.3 percent shooting and just 5 of 21 from beyond the arc.
 
The Griffins only trailed in the game 10-8 before they scored 12 of the game's next 14 points to open an 8-point lead they never gave back. The lead lingered in single digits into the midway part of the second half before a 17-5 run opened the advantage to 55-39 with 5:18 to play. During the 8-minute burst, Westminster held the Hardrockers to 2 of 9 shooting and forced them into four turnovers.
 
The Griffins were shooting it well on their end of the floor throughout the night as they finished at 48.2 percent in the game. They tallied 16 assists and 12 turnovers and went 3 of 10 from beyond the arc. They forced Mines into 12 turnovers and had five blocked shots.
 
Three Griffins scored in double figures with Marcus Bryce and Zerrion Payton leading the way with 12 points apiece.  Tanner Newbold added 10 points off the bench and Dayon Goodman and Travis Devashrayee had eight points apiece.
 
Westminster had 40 rebounds in the game with Goodman grabbing a team-best nine. Bryce had a career-high four blocked shots, finishing one off the school record.
 
Mines used 12 offensive rebounds for 13 points to stay in the game. The visitor also scored 13 points from the 12 Griffin turnovers.
 
Jamall Taylor led the Hardrockers with nine points and two assists.
 
The Griffins look to extend their winning streak on Saturday when they host Black Hills State. The action in the Behnken Field House tips at 7:30 p.m. MST with tickets available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.