SALT LAKE CITY, Utah Western Colorado outscored Westminster College 45-35 in the second half. Yet, that didn't matter as a slow start to the game led to the Mountaineers losing 68-80 to the Griffins.
 
JUST THE FACTS
Final Score: Westminster College def., Western Colorado 80-68.
Records: Western Colorado 3-14, 1-12 RMAC, Westminster College 8-13, 7-8 RMAC.
Location: Behnken Field House; Salt Lake City, Utah.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Early on things were pretty even with the score tied 6-6 – Jaelan McCloud scoring four of the six-points. But, then Westminster College slowly started to pull away leading to them having a 19-11 lead at the second media timeout of the first half. With 9:49 left in the half, Kade Juelfs knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to 15-22. The Griffins then went on a 9-0 run, to increase their lead to 31-15.
• The Mountaineers would outscore Westminster 5-2 over the next three-minutes and 23-seconds, thanks to Juelfs who scored all five-points. The Griffins offense caught fire after that and remained hot for the rest of the first half, closing out that the half on a 12-3 run.
• Down 23-45 to start the second half, Robel Desta (layup) and McCloud (three-pointer) helped Western keep pace with Westminster. After being down by 25-points with 16:28 on the clock, Mason Black knocked down a three-pointer, cutting the lead to 39-58 (12:59).
• The Griffins lead would grow to as large as 24-points. However, with 1:09 left in the game, the Mountaineers started to chip away at the lead as Christian Still hit a three-pointer, leading to the score reading 64-80. Still would make another bucket and then Andrew Reichart finished the game off with a layup, as the final score read 68-80.

COURT NOTES

• McCloud led the way in scoring, recording 16-points on 6-of-12 shooting. Juelfs was the next highest scorer with 14-points and Still pitched in with 11-points. Trevin Lieck and Robel Desta led the team in steals, both having two apiece.
• As a team, Western shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field, 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from three and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the free throw line.
• For Westminster they had four players in double figures, being led by Trey Farrer who had a team high 18-points. Taylor Miller pitched in with 14-points, Donaval Avila had 11-points and Lewis Johnson had 10-points.
• The Griffins shot, 54.2 percent (32-of-59) from the field, 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from three and 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the free throw line.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will be back in action on Saturday (Jan. 28) taking on Colorado Mesa on the road at 7:30 p.m.