DURANGO, Colo.—Free throws made the difference as the Westminster men's basketball team lost to Fort Lewis, 78-81. The Skyhawks went to the line 24 times, 11 more than Westminster, and shot 79.2%.
 
Westminster led five times. Its greatest lead came in the first half. The Griffins went on a 19-8 run to lead by 10 with eight minutes in the first half.
 
The Griffins went on a 9-0 run twice, in the second half, to take the lead. The first came early in the second half for a one-point lead. The second put the Griffins in front by five, their largest lead in the half, with five minutes remaining.
 
Fort Lewis overtook Westminster in the final minutes, scoring 11 from the free throw line and outscoring Westminster 13-5.
 
The Griffins shot 58.5% from the field, 47.6% from three, making 10-21, and 46.2% from the stripe. Westminster outscored the Skyhawks 34-20 in the paint, scored 13 points off turnovers while limiting Fort Lewis to six.
 
Joey Andrews, Reme Torbert and Matt Kitzman led the team in scoring. Andrews shot 7-8 from the field, 3-3 from three and 2-5 from the stripe for 19 points. Torbert shot 6-12 from the field and 5-11 from thre for 17 points. Kitzman shot 5-6 from the field and 2-2 from the stripe for 12 points.
 
Brandon Willardson and Brayden Johnson led the team in rebounding. Willardson grabbed six rebounds and Johnson grabbed five rebounds and recorded the team's only blocked shot.
 
The Griffins play Colorado Mesa on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 pm in Grand Junction, Colo. They finish the week at South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, S.D., at 6 pm.