SALT LAKE CITY - With less than two weeks until the 2022 RMAC Tournament, Westminster men's basketball (9-15, 7-11 RMAC) sit just one conference win back of the current eighth seed as it gets set to host its final two home games beginning on Friday night in a matchup with Colorado School of Mines (14-8, 12-6 RMAC), followed by Regis (RV) (17-7, 12-6 RMAC) on Saturday night, both games tipping-off at 7 p.m.

Game Info:
- The Westminster men's basketball program will honor its senior Class of 2022 prior to Saturday's home finale against Regis.  This year's seniors include: 
Ryan Bell, Brantzen Blackner, Brayden Johnson and Matt Kitzman.
- The Westminster Athletics Griffins Club will host a pre-game tailgate prior to Saturday's men's and women's basketball doubleheader.  The tailgate will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Kim T. Adamson Alumni House.  Register for FREE here.
-  Both of this weekend's men's basketball games will be hosted at the Behnken Field House. General admission into all games is $8.
-  Tickets for all home basketball games can be purchased at westminstergriffins.com/tickets.
-  All Westminster basketball games are available to stream for free on the RMAC Network. Viewers can watch live or on-demand online at rmacnetwork.com/Westminster or on the RMAC Network app, available on all major app stores.
- Masks are required for all in attendance at the Behnken Field House.  Visit westminstergriffins.com for full Westminster College COVID-19 guidelines.

About the Griffins (9-15, 7-11 RMAC):
- Probable Starters:
    - G #2   Matt Kitzman:
        - SEASON: 7.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.1 APG
    - G #11  Reme Torbert:
        - SEASON: 10.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.1 APG
    - G #10 Donaval Avila:
        - SEASON: 6.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 APG
    - F #13 Brayden Johnson:
        - SEASON: 9.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.3 APG
    - F #21 Lewis Johnson:
        - SEASON: 7.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.7 APG
- The Griffins are coming off of an 0-2 road trip after falling at CSU Pueblo and Adams State last Friday and Saturday, respectively.
- Westminster was outscored 14-9 in the second overtime of a 101-96 loss on Saturday at Adams State.
- Westminster led by three with under five seconds to play in the first OT at ASU, but surrendered a game-tying three at the buzzer to send the game into a second overtime.
- Yusuf Mohamed averaged 19.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg off of the bench last week, going 21-of-22 from the free throw line between the two games.
- Mohamed has come off of the bench and averaged a team-leading 13.8 ppg with 4.0 rpg over the past four games.
- Brantzen Blackner had a season-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting on Saturday at Adams St.

About the Orediggers (14-8, 12-6 RMAC):
- Colorado School of Mines split its two home games last weekend with a two-point, 62-60, loss on Friday night to Fort Lewis and a 79-74 win on Saturday vs Western Colorado.
- The Orediggers have won nine of their last ten as Friday's loss to Fort Lewis snapped an eight-game winning streak.
- Head Coach Pryor Orser became the program's all-time leader in career wins after earning his 387th victory in Mines' win over Westminster back on Jan. 22.
- Brendan Sullivan begins the weekend as the team's leading scorer with 15.2 ppg while Ben Boone has a team-leading 45 made three-pointers on the season and sits second on the team with 13.5 ppg.
- The Orediggers have allowed the fewest points to opponents (64.6 ppg) in the RMAC this season and rank third behind Westminster in rebounding with 35.7 rpg and a +4.0 rebounding margin.

About the Rangers (17-6, 12-5 RMAC):
- Colorado School of Mines split its two home games last weekend with a two-point, 62-60, loss on Friday night to Fort Lewis and a 79-74 win on Saturday vs Western Colorado.
- The Orediggers have won nine of their last ten as Friday's loss to Fort Lewis snapped an eight-game winning streak.
- Head Coach Pryor Orser became the program's all-time leader in career wins after earning his 387th victory in Mines' win over Westminster back on Jan. 22.
- Brendan Sullivan begins the weekend as the team's leading scorer with 15.2 ppg while Ben Boone has a team-leading 45 made three-pointers on the season and sits second on the team with 13.5 ppg.
- The Orediggers have allowed the fewest points to opponents (64.6 ppg) in the RMAC this season and rank third behind Westminster in rebounding with 35.7 rpg and a +4.0 rebounding margin.
- Series History:
    - Since reinstating the men's basketball program in 1999, Westminster is 3-8 against Colorado School of Mines.
    - Colorado School of Mines won the first matchup of the season back on Jan. 22 in Golden but the Griffins won the last game in Salt Lake City, 68-66, back in Jan. of 2020.

Westminster Senior Day Class of 2022:
- Prior to Saturday's contest vs. Regis, Westminster men's basketball will honor the following seniors for the class of 2022:
    - #35   Ryan Bell - F
        - HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Holladay, Utah - Olympus High School
        - Has played in 34 career games for Westminster and is averaging 1.8 rpg with 14 blocks as a senior this season.
        - Committed to Westminster in April of 2020 after attending both Southwestern Oregon and Pierce College out of high school.
        - Married to Brecklyn Brecklyn, he is the son of Marianne and Troy Bell and will graduate from Westminster with a degree in biology.
    - #24   Brantzen Blackner - G
        - HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Cedar City, Utah - Canyon View HS
        - Has played in 43 career games for Westminster with four starts a senior.
        - Committed to Westminster in June of 2020 after spending two seasons Snow College, he will graduate from Westminster with a degree in sports management.
    - #13   Brayden Johnson - F
        - HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Draper, Utah - Corner Canyon HS
        -  He has played in 43 career games for Westminster, averaging 9.9 ppg and 5.0 rpg while starting all 24 games as a senior.
        - Committed to Westminster in May of 2020 after attending Snow College where he was a first team all-conference selection and the NJCAA Region 18 Tournament MVP.
        - Married to Samantha Johnson, he is the son of Jim and Krista Johnson.
        - He will graduate from Westminster with a degree in public health and biology having spent time as a physical therapist aid during his undergraduate studies.
    - #2   Matt Kitzman - G
        - HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL: Draper, Utah - Juan Diego HS
        - Transferred to Westminster after playing in 27 games for Hobart College in Geneva, New York.
        - Has played in 89 career games during his college career including 62 games for Westminster.
        - A two-year starter for the Griffins, Kitzman has averaged 7.8 ppg and 2.5 rpg as a senior.
        - Kitzman will graduate from Westminster College with a degree in finance.

Up Next:
Westminster will make its final push at a postseason spot on the road next week as it closes out the regular season at Fort Lewis on Thurs., Feb. 24 and at Western Colorado on Sat., Feb. 26.

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