ODESSA, Texas - Westminster men's basketball (0-1) cut a 10-point deficit down to two with the help of two Jarrett Jordan three pointers in the final 40 seconds of regulation, but it proved too little too late as Western New Mexico (1-0) prevailed, 71-67, on Friday night at the Falcon Dome on the campus of UT-Permian Basin.

Lewis Johnson finished the night with a team-high 14 points while Donaval Avila (11) and Jarrett Jordan (10) also reached double digits, all coming off of the bench as Westminster had 41 total bench points on the night.  Brayden Johnson added seven points on 3-of-6 shooting on top of eight boards that included four on the offensive end.

Westminster found itself down six at halftime after a last-second Western N.M. three just before the break and a 9-of-23 (39 percent) shooting start for the Griffins.  Westminster had previously led by as many as five in the opening minutes of the game but the momentum flipped when a 10-0 Mustangs run gave them a lead they would not surrender for the remainder of the contest.

Led by a game-high 21 points from Tony Avalos, Western N.M. went up by as many as 13 early in the second half as the Griffins struggled to find its offensive footing until late into the game.  Westminster gave up 24 points off of 19 turnovers offensively, a figure they reached just once all of last season.

Westminster out-rebounded Western N.M. on the night, 24-20, and held a 12-3 advantage in second-chance points but allowed 17 fast break points to the Mustangs and ran out of time on the clock to overcome the early miscues.

The Griffins will be back on the same court tomorrow afternoon as they play their first true road game of the season against hosts Texas Permian Basin beginning at 3 p.m. (MDT).

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