SALT LAKE CITY--The men's basketball team lost its first home game to New Mexico Highlands, 79-70.  Westminster fought back to within five after falling behind by 24 in the second half, but were unable to steal the lead.

The griffins went 10-30 from the field, 4-15 from three and 5-10 from the free-throw line in the first half.  The Cowboys made eight from beyond the arc and scored 47 points for an 18 point first half lead.

The deficit grew to 24 as the Cowboys opened the second half with a 6-point run.  A couple of runs helped get the Griffins back into the game.  A 13-4 run brought the visitor's lead down to nine with about 10 minutes remaining in the half.

Westminster stopped the Cowboys and gave themselves enough chances to close the gap but six turnovers over six minutes eventually allowed New Mexico Highlands to increase the lead slightly.  A surge in the final couple of minutes brought the game within five points but the Griffins were unable to get any closer as the Cowboys defeated Westminster, 79-70.

Jacob Mccord led the team in scoring with 16 points.  He had seven rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Jake Connor and Alex Monson each scored 13 and Jai Jai Ely scored 12.  Rounding out the scoring was Brandon Warr iwth nine, James Walljasper with four and Joonas Tahvanainen with three.

Warr lead the Griffins under the glass with 10 rebounds. Alec Monson grabbed nine, Walljasper had three and Connor, Ely and Tahvanainen each grabbed one.

Westminster returns to action on January 4 and 5 at Colorado School of Mines and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.  The next home game is January 11 and 12 against Chadron State and MSU Denver.