PROVO - The Westminster men's basketball team traveled south to the Marriott Center  for an exhibition game against Brigham Young University.  BYU defeated Westminster, 76-62, in the first meeting between the two schools.

The Griffins got off to a slow start to start the game. Turnovers and missed opportunities hurt the Griffins and allowed the Cougars to build their lead. With 7:47 remaining in the first half the Griffins were trailing 23 to 10, shooting 4-of-13 and having turned the ball over nine times.

The Cougars had their largest lead of the contest after a 12-0 run saw them stretch the lead to 32-10.  Dayon Goodman finally got on the score sheet, scoring one of two free-throws with 4:23 remaining in the first half. A steal by Mason Smith helped ignite an important 9-0 run that saw Quincy Bair score two 3-pointers, a steal by Eris Winder and a basket by Goodman.     

The Griffins finished the first half shooting 8-of-27 and 29.6 percent compared to BYU's 14-of-25 and 56.0 percent shooting.  Both teams had nine turnovers in the half.  Westminster scored seven points off the turnovers and BYU scored 12.  The half ended with the Cougars in the lead 38-21.

The Griffins managed the second half much better with score teetering back and forth but neither team really making any large gains on the other.  The Griffins improved their shooting and shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29), reduced their turnovers to only five in the half, and added seven assists to the three in the first half.

The Griffins made a late push near the end of the game to close the gap in the socre line.  The Griffins were able to cut the lead down to 10 after a seven point run saw Goodman score five  points and Sam Orchard score two.  The game ended, 76-62, in favor of the Cougars.

"We came out timid and tentative in the first half," Head Coach Norm Parrish said, "which led to some mistakes and missed assignments.  We settled down and saw an improvement in the second half."

Bair led the Griffins in scoring with 17 points shooting 7-of-15 shooting and two 3-pointers. Goodman scored 16 points shooting 5-of-15,  had four assists and 9 rebounds. Mason smith shot 5-of-10 and contributed 11 points and five rebounds.

BYU's Toeli Childs got his second double-double for the season, scoring 25 points and 14 rebounds.  Elijah Bryant scored in double digits with 17 points and TJ Haws scored nine and led both teams in assists with seven.  BYU shot 50.0 percent (25-of-50) for the game UVU shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half and finished at 48.1 percent for the game (26-of-54).

Westminster returns home to the Behnken Field House for two non-league games against Johnson & Wales-Denver on Friday, October 10, at 7:00 PM and Saturday, October 11, at 3:00 PM.  Tickets can be purchased online in advance or before the game at the door.  The game will be broadcast on the RMAC Network and available on live stats.