Salt Lake City, UT – The Westminster Griffins men's basketball team put together a strong second-half performance to defeat Chadron State College 69-54 on Saturday afternoon in a crucial RMAC matchup. With the win, the Griffins improve to 13-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.

Chase Potter led the charge for Westminster, delivering a game-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting while adding six rebounds. Simon Akena provided a solid two-way performance, scoring 15 points and grabbing six boards. Boston Painter contributed 12 points off the bench, and Donaval Avila added 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

The Griffins took a 31-26 lead into halftime after a tightly contested first half, which saw five ties and six lead changes. Westminster shot an efficient 44.8% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, but it was their defense that proved to be the difference in the second half. The Griffins held Chadron State to just 31.4% shooting after the break while outscoring the Eagles 38-28 to pull away for the victory.

Chadron State (13-13, 9-9 RMAC) was led by Jalen Thomas, who finished with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. John Jenkins added eight points and four rebounds, but the Eagles struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just 3-of-17 attempts from deep (17.6%).

Westminster finished the game shooting 46.3% from the field, including an 88.9% mark from the free-throw line. The Griffins dominated inside, scoring 30 points in the paint while also converting 16-of-18 from the charity stripe.

The Griffins will now hit the road for their final away game of the regular season, facing Western Colorado on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on the RMAC Network. Westminster will then return home for Senior Night on Thursday, Feb. 27, as they close out the regular season in front of their home crowd.