Griffins Make Season's Final Road Trip
The Westminster men's basketball team is off to Colorado this weekend to play its final two road games of the season. The Griffins will face Western State Colorado in Gunnison, Colo. on Friday night. They will then play at Colorado Mesa on Saturday in Grand Junction, Colo. Both games of the weekend will tip at 7:30 p.m. MST.
 
Both games of the weekend trip will be broadcast live on the RMAC Network with the host school producing the content. The RMAC Network is available at RMACsports.tv and is optimized for viewing all mobile devices. Live stats will also be available during each game and links for all live features can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
About the Griffins
Westminster enters the final road trip at 11-6 overall this season and riding a six-game winning streak. The Griffins remain in the No. 4 position in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings with an 11-4 record in league play. They are 6-3 on the road this season and have swept the last two road weekend trips.
 
The Griffins are currently averaging 74.2 points per game to rank 12th in the RMAC. They sit sixth in the conference by shooting 45.9 percent from the field and fifth by connecting on 39.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins make 6.2 threes per outing. They also sit second in the conference in foul shooting at 77.0 percent.
 
Both Dayon Goodman and Zerrion Payton are inside the RMAC's top-20 in scoring average. Goodman is scoring 15.8 points per game to sit 12th in the conference with Payton adding 14.0 per game to rank 16th. Travis Devashrayee leads the RMAC by making 60.0 percent from beyond the arc and he is fifth by shooting 57.7 percent overall.
 
Westminster ranks third in the RMAC by holding opponents to 67.5 points per game. The Griffins lead the conference in holding the opposition to 39.6 percent shooting from the field and they are third by allowing 33.8 percent from beyond the arc. The team pulls in 35.5 rebounds per game and allow just 34.4. They rank second in the league at 3.9 blocked shots per game while averaging 13.8 assists and 5.6 steals.
 
Goodman leads the team with 122 rebounds and is fifth in the RMAC at 7.2 rebounds per game. Payton leads the team with 63 assists and his 3.7 assists per game are seventh most in the RMAC. Marcus Bryce blocks 1.5 shots per game to place fourth in the RMAC with Goodman sitting fifth at 1.4 blocks per game. Casey Evans leads the team with 18 steals.
 
Count on 10
With a win at UCCS on January 27, the team reached 10 wins on the season to extend its streak to all 18 seasons since the program was reinstated in 1999. They have recorded a winning record in every year except two (1999-00 and 2014-15) with 12 seasons recording at least 20 wins. There has now been 35 seasons with 10-plus wins in the 40 years of program history, including 30 winning seasons.
 
Win with Defense
The Griffins enter the weekend third in the RMAC by allowing just 67.5 points per game. They have held the opposition under 60 points five times this season with only seven scoring 70 or more. Westminster is tops in the RMAC by holding opponents to 39.6 percent shooting and they are the only team holding the opposition under 40 percent. That percentage would rank 11th in the NCAA if the team was eligible for national rankings. They have held 11 opponents under 40 percent shooting this season, including seven of the past nine.
 
Block Party
Westminster has tallied 67 blocked shots as a team this season with multiple blocks in all but two games this season. The blocks rank as the sixth most for a single season in team history and the average of 3.94 per game that ranks second in the RMAC would set a new school record. The team is on pace to notch 94 blocks this season. The duo of Marcus Bryce and Dayon Goodman have totaled 50 of the team's blocks and they are fourth and fifth in the conference in blocked shots respectively.
 
Goodman is Good, Man
Junior Dayon Goodman leads the Griffins in scoring at 15.8 points per game and he has scored in double figures 13 times this season. Goodman is fifth in the RMAC by grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game and is one of just two players in the conference to rank in the top-15 in both scoring and rebounding. His four 20-point outing lead the team and he was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on January 16 after leading the Griffins to a road sweep at Chadron State and Regis.
 
Mr. Everything
Zerrion Payton continues to have a hand in everything the Griffins do this season. The senior is second on the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game and he is third by grabbing 4.6 rebounds per night. Payton has scored in double figures a team-best 14 times on the year and led the team in scoring seven times. He also leads the team with 63 assists and is seventh in the RMAC at 3.7 assists per game. Payton ranks 11th in team history with 176 career assists and his 4.44 defensive rebounds per game are second most in school history.
 
Opponent Info: Western State Colorado
• Western State is 5-15 overall and 3-6 at home this season.
• The Mountaineers are 13th in the RMAC with a 4-12 record.
• Ben Beauchamp scores 19.3 points per game to lead the RMAC.
• Westminster is 8-0 all-time against WSCU and 1-0 in Gunnison.
• The Griffins beat the Mountaineers, 82-61, on December 2 in SLC.
 
Opponent Info: Colorado Mesa
• Colorado Mesa enters Saturday at 7-15 and winners of two straight.
• The Mavericks are 6-10 in RMAC action to place 11th in the conference.
• Eimer Lopez averages 14.2 points per game to lead the team.
• Westminster and Mesa have split six previous meetings with CMU 2-1 at home.
• The Griffins claimed an 89-68 win in SLC on December 3.
 
Following the Griffins
Make sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube 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
Westminster will close the season with five straight home games. That stretch begins with CSU-Pueblo in the Behnken Field House on February 10 and then New Mexico Highlands on February 11. Both games will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. MST with tickets available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.