SALT LAKE CITY - Westminster men's basketball (2-4, 0-0 RMAC) will travel across the Rockies to begin its 2021-22 conference season in Denver this weekend as it plays MSU Denver (RV) (6-0, 0-0 RMAC) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. (MDT) before taking on Colorado Christian (3-3, 0-0 RMAC) on Sunday at 3 p.m. (MDT).

Game Info:
- Visit westminstergriffins.com for web links to all of this weekend's game coverage as well as full Westminster men's basketball game notes on this week's matchups.
- This weekend's games were originally scheduled for Friday/Saturday, but were moved back in order to accommodate MSU Denver's hosting of the NCAA DII South Central Region Volleyball Tournament this week.
-  All Westminster basketball games are available for FREE streaming on the RMAC Network.
- Viewers can watch live or on-demand online at rmacnetwork.com/Westminster or via the RMAC Network app, available on all major app stores.
- Live stats for both games will be available at westminstergriffins.com.

About the Griffins:
- Probable Starters:
    - G #2   Matt Kitzman:
        - LAST WEEK: 6.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4 STLS
    - G #11  Reme Torbert:
        - CAREER: 24 starts, 10 PPG, .818 FT PCT
    - G #10 Donaval Avila:
        - SEASON: 7.0 PPG, 9 assists, 3.5 RPG, .800 FT PCT (24-of-30)
    - F #13 Brayden Johnson:
        - CAREER: 20 starts, 8.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG
    - F #5   Yusuf Mohamed:
        - LAST WEEK: 21.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 3 blocks, 4 steals

- Westminster split its first home weekend of the season with an 80-68 loss to Central Washington in Friday's home opener and a 70-62 win over Western Oregon on Saturday night.
- Friday's loss broke a streak of six-straight wins for the Griffins in home openers and was the first home-opening loss for Westminster since 2014.
- The Griffins had 17 steals as a team and finished with a +1.0 turnover margin last weekend.
- Westminster attempted 18.0 free throws per game last week and finished 36-of-47 (77 percent) at the line as a team.

Tipping Off Conference Play:
- Westminster is 5-1 in conference openers since joining the RMAC with a 4-0 mark at home and a 1-1 away record.
- Westminster led for the majority of the night and held on late in last year's conference opener, a 56-55 win over MSU Denver.  The Griffins led by seven with just over one minute to play and held on to win despite five missed free throws and three turnovers down the stretch
- Westminster won its first four conference openers after joining the league for the 2015-16 season.  It's only loss to begin the RMAC season was a 74-63 defeat in St. George, Utah at Dixie State in 2019.

Westminster in the RMAC:
- Westminster had its best conference finish last season since becoming postseason eligible, going 9-10 on an abbreviated conference schedule to finish 7th in the final standings.
-  The Griffins have had all-conference performers each of the past five seasons.  Matt Kitzman (honorable mention) and Joey Andrews (second team) earned all-conference honors last season.

About the Roadrunners:
- Probable Starters:
    - 0 Ra'Shawn Langston - 17.0 PPG, 10 assists, 8 steals
    - 3 Miles Gibson - 15.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG
    - 4 Keyshaad Dixon- 4.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 22 assists
    - 5 Tyrei Randall - 8.7 PPG, 7 steals
    - 21 Laolu Oke - 17.8 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 11 steals, 4 blocks
- MSU Denver is off to its first 6-0 start since 2012-13 and was among teams receiving votes in the latest NABC NCAA Division II National Coaches' Poll.
- Laolu Oke was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for a third-straight week after averaging 19.0 ppg and 13.7 rpg while shooting 76 percent from the field.
- Oke also made a game-saving steal on a last-minute inbounds pass and an ensuing free throw to help MSU Denver beat Concordia-St. Paul, 71-68.
- Oke is on a program-record 10-game streak with a double-double as the 6-foot-8 sophomore from Aurora, Colo., is averaging a team-leading 17.8 ppg and 14.0 rpg to begin the season.
- MSU Denver has won four of six games by double digits so far this season and owns a +16.2 scoring margin after non-conference play.

MSU Denver Series History:
- Westminster has won the last three matchups after MSU Denver had won the previous three.
- The Griffins went 2-0 last season, winning two games on the road at MSU Denver.
- Westminster won each of the two games that have been decided by one possession including a one-point win in the last matchup on Jan. 16.
- MSU Denver owns the largest win in the all-time series, a 20-point win in Denver back in 2016.

About the Cougars:
- Probable Starters:
    - 3 D.J. McDonald - 13.3 PPG, 6 assists, 92 FT PCT
    - 12 Isaiah Alonzo - 11.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 86 FT PCT
    - 13 Andy Stafford - 11.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG
    - 20 Nic Zeil - 4.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 10 assists
    - 34 Ross Williams - 23.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 12 steals
- Colorado Christian heads into the weekend on a two-game winning streak after double-digit wins last week over Southwest (N.M.) and Park (Ariz.).
- CCU has two wins by 30 or more points and three wins by 20 or more including a 37-point win over Yellowstone Christian back on Nov. 20, it's largest win of the year.  Yellowstone Christian beat the Cougars, 77-74, the following night.
- The Cougars own a +9.0 PPG scoring margin over opponents so far this season. They average 10.2 made three-pointers per game and 16.2 made free throws per game.
- CCU will host Colorado Mesa on Saturday afternoon before playing Westminster on Sunday.

Colorado Christian Series History:
- Westminster has won the last two games in the all-time series and four of the previous five.
- The Griffins won both of last season's matchups including a 79--71 December win at the Behnken Field House and an 83-77 win in Lakewood in which the Griffins owned a 44-14 advantage in points in the paint.
- Westminster won the first four all-time matchups and are 8-2 all-time against the Cougars.
- Westminster is 3-2 all-time in Lakewood and 5-0 all-time at home in the Behnken Field House.

Up Next:
Westminster will host its home opener next weekend beginning with Chadron State on Fri., Dec. 10, followed by Black Hills state on Sat., Dec. 11.  All Westminster men's basketball home games will tip-off at 7 p.m. at the Behnken Field House.

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