RMAC Home Opener

The men's basketball team plays its home opener on Friday against CSU-Pueblo and Saturday against New Mexico Highlands.  The games are both scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. in the Behnken Fieldhouse.
 
Tickets are available to purchase in advance online or at the door prior to the game.  The games will be broadcast on the RMAC Network and live stats will be available online. 

Week in Review

The Griffins split results on the road this weekend, beating the Mavericks at Colorado Mesa and suffering their first loss of the season to the Cowboys at Western State University.
 
Westminster and Mesa both were shooting well in the first half.  The Griffins scored 36 points and shot 50.0 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, and were perfect from the free throw line on one attempt.  The Mavericks scored 33 points and shot 42.3 percent from the field, 44.4 from beyond the 3-point arc and 77.8 from the free throw line.
 
The Griffins finished the second half with a 12 point lead, winning 74-62.  The Griffins went 11-of-26 from the field, 3-of-9 from the 3-point arc and 13-of-16 from the free throw line while the Mavericks were 10-of-30 from the field, 0-of-9 from the 3-point arc and 9-of-11 from the field. 
 
Westminster lost in overtime to the Western State Mountaineers, 79-69.  The Griffins shot 43.5 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the charity strip but they struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 25.0 percent.  The Mountaineers were 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 10 3-pointers out of 24 attempts.
 
Griffins in the Book

Westminster is 5-1 overall and 1-1 conference play after last weekend.  They are 4-0 at home and look to continue that unbeaten home streak against CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands.
 
Westminster as a team is shooting 48.4 percent from the field, 39.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 78.9 percent from the charity stripe, outscoring the opponents 463-to-407.  They have out rebounded their opponents 214-to-194. 
 
Goodman scored 30 points in the win against Mesa and 35 points in the loss against Western State.  He has scored 30 or more points in five of the six games this season.  He leads the RMAC in scoring with 192 points, averaging 32.0 points per game-11.2 points per game more than the next student-athlete.  Goodman has been perfect from the free throw line in four of the six games played and has made 48 on 53 attempts.
 
Quincy Bair is the team's next leading scorer with 67 points.  Bair has leads the team with 10 blocks and is second on the team in rebounds with 33, 25 defensive and eight offensive boards.
 
Tanner Newbold and Jarred Laws have been scoring for the Griffins from the perimeter.  Newbold has scored 30 of his 54 points from 3-pointers, shooting 47.6 percent.  Laws has scored 39 points, 24 points coming from 3-pointers.
 
Scouting CSU-Pueblo
 
CSU-Pueblo is 0-3 in RMAC competition and 3-6 overall.  Their conference losses are to Fort Lewis, Adams State and New Mexico Highlands.
 
The Thunderwolves average 81.1 points per game and give up 83.2.  They are 45.9 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from threes, and 74.4 percent from the line.  They average 33.9 rebounds pregame, 5.2 steals and 5.1 blocks.
 
Will Newman is the team's leading scorer, averaging 17.7 points per game.  In nine games he has 15 steals, seven blocks and 52 assists.  He has collected 56 rebounds.
 
Donovan Oldham has scored 130 points, averaging 14.4 per game.  He has 10 blocked shots and leads the team in rebounds with 66, 15 offensive and 51 defensive rebounds.
 
Josh Smith averages 13.9 points per game and Mika Nuolivirta averages 13.3 points.  Nuilivirta is 8-of-16 from the 3-point arc.

Scouting New Mexico Highlands
 
New Mexico Highlands is 5-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference.  The Cowboys lost to Fort Lewis and Adams State.
 
The Cowboys average 82.0 points per game and give up 75.8.  They are 45.9 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from threes, and 72.4 percent from the line.  They average 33.8 rebounds pregame, 4.6 steals and 2.0 blocks.

Three players have scored over 100 points in eight games.  Jordan Jones leads the team with 116 points, averaging 14.5 per game, Jacob Holland has 114 points, averaging 14.3 per game, and Mike Nwabuzor has 111 points, averaging 13.9 points per game.
 
Chris Lewis leads the team with 69 rebounds, 30 offensive and 39 defensive boards.  Lewis leads the team with eight blocks.  Nwabuzor has 45 rebounds Jones has 37 and Nmamdi Okoro has 35.
 
Following the Griffins

Make sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news about the Griffins. Game updates are provided on Twitter by following @wc_griffins. Fans can stay connected with Westminster men's basketball by following @griffinbasketball on Instagram.
 
Looking Ahead

The Griffins will host Fort Lewis and Adams State next week.  The game against Fort Lewis is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, and the game against Adams State is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Dec. 16.
 
About the Griffins

Westminster is in its third year as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division II level. Last year the Griffins finished fourth in the RMAC standings with a 16-8 overall and 16-6 RMAC record.
 
The team returns 10 players from last season's roster all of whom played at least six games.  Dayon Goodman and Jarred Laws each started all 24 games last year.
 
The Griffins have been picked to finish fourth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' poll.