Game Breakdown
First Half
Westminster struggled to find its footing from the opening tip Thursday night in Spearfish, South Dakota, falling behind early and never recovering. Black Hills State jumped out to a 10-4 lead before the first media timeout and continued to pull away throughout the half. The Yellow Jackets connected on 16-of-33 shots (48.48%) in the opening 20 minutes, while the Griffins managed just 10-of-32 (31.25%) from the floor. BHSU's Cam Lowe was a consistent thorn in Westminster's side, pouring in buckets late in the half to push the lead to as many as 19. A technical foul on Tommy Ball with 22 seconds remaining gave Black Hills State two additional free throws, and the Griffins headed to the locker room trailing 43-24.
Second Half
Westminster came out with more energy in the second half, shooting 41.18% from the field compared to 31.25% in the first, but the deficit proved too large to overcome. The Griffins trimmed the lead to 25 at points during the second period, but Black Hills State answered every run. BHSU finished the night shooting 49.2% from the field overall and outscored Westminster 37-34 in the second half to close out the 80-58 victory. The Yellow Jackets' fast break was a major factor all night, finishing with 20 fast break points compared to Westminster's 5.
Griffin Performances
Colin Hayes led Westminster with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds. Jack Jamele came off the bench to contribute 9 points, connecting on 2-of-2 from three-point range. Boston Painter added 8 points and a team-high 7 rebounds, while Mitch Jeppesen chipped in 8 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Michael Fraizer pulled down a team-high 6 rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Westminster's bench outscored BHSU's reserves 37-32 on the night.
For Black Hills State, Cam Lowe paced all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep. Jaeton Hackley added 12 points and dished out 5 assists, while Myles Johnson came off the bench for 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Up Next
Westminster finishes up the season on the road tomorrow against Chadron State.
