SALT LAKE CITY - Westminster men's basketball (5-5, 3-1 RMAC) and Black Hills State (6-3, 4-0 RMAC) each shot 44 percent from the field and played relatively clean games with only 19 turnovers between the two teams, but the Yellow Jackets connected on 12 three's, twice as many as the Griffins, to win, 69-69, on Saturday night at the Behnken Field House.

Black Hills State had a pair of 20-point scorers on the night while Reme Torbert finished 6-of-11 shooting with a team-high 13 points.  Donaval Avila added 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Matt Kitzman scored 10 to hit double figures for the second time this season.

The Griffins went 14-of-26 (54 percent) from the field as a team in the opening half and connected on 4-of-7 three-pointers (57 percent) but trailed by as many as nine in the opening half as Black Hills State his six three's of their own in the first half.

Black Hills State pushed its lead to double digits early in the second half but the Griffins got back within two on a Reme Torbert jumper with 14:14 to play in the game.  The Yellow Jackets responded with a series of three's to push their lead back up to a game-high 12 at the 6-minute mark, setting up an 8-0 Westminster run to cut into the BHSU lead again. 

A made jumper from Donaval Avila at the 3-minute mark cut the Black Hills State lead down to 64-60 but Westminster failed to connected on another field goal for the remainder of regulation as Black Hills State extended its lead on three more trips to the free throw line before the final buzzer.

Westminster will be back at home on Thursday night as they host CSU Pueblo beginning at 7 p.m. back at the Behnken Field House.

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