SALT LAKE CITY—The Westminster men's basketball team(8-4, 3-3 RMAC) defeated Colorado School of Mines (8-5, 4-2 RMAC), 68-66, to open the New Year. The Griffins held on to a narrow lead for the final minutes to record their third conference win of the season.
 
Westminster led first after Alec Monson made three free throws at the beginning of the game. The Orediggers took a brief lead just a few minutes later. Jake Connor and James Walljasper each scored five points and Monson contributed four as Westminster made a 14-2 run to recover its lead and finish the half 11 points up.
 
Mines made a pair of free throws to come within one point with just one-minute remaining in the game. Joonas Tahvanainen and Jai Jai Ely each made a free throw giving Westminster a three-point lead. Ely made it a two-possession game and sealed the win after scoring a another free throw after a technical foul was called against Mines with just five seconds remaining.
 
The Griffins went 8-17 from three out shooting the Orediggers who finished 3-24. The Griffins were 12-13 from the charity stripe in the first half but left several points shooting 4-12 in the second and finishing 16-25.
 
Connor led the team with 17 points shooting 6-10 from the field, 2-4 from free throws and 3-3 from beyond the arc. Monson scored 13 points going 3-3 from the stripe and 2-3 from three. Walljasper scored 11 going 7-8 from the stripe.
 
The Griffins host University Colorado-Colorado Springs on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 7:30 pm.