With the return of Frontier Conference Player of the Year Danny Reeder and first team all-conference forward Nick Booth, the Westminster men's basketball team was gearing up for a big season.
With a preseason ranking of 13th in the NAIA poll, the Griffins ran into some bad luck just before Thanksgiving. It came in the form of a season-ending knee injury to Booth.
The monumental loss was tough for the team to get over, but the Griffins have responded to the misfortune.
"We've been fortunate to win five of the last six games without Nick. We've had guys step up and fill that role," Westminster coach Tommy Connor said. "Our challenge in league play every night becomes much harder."
Through seven games, Booth was averaging 11 points and four rebounds per game.
Connor has used several players, including Danny Stosich and Allen Schowengerdt, to try to fill the void. Since reinstituting Westminster's basketball program in 1999, Connor has a record of 125-67 overall.
The former Ute guard has led the Griffins to the NAIA National Tournament for the past five seasons. With Booth gone for the year, the race for the conference championship is up for grabs.
Before league play gets under way, the Griffins (8-5) leave for some fun in the sun. The South Padre Island Shootout is the team's last opportunity to fine tune things before they start conference play on Jan. 6 at Lewis-Clark State College.
The Griffins' last game was an 83-82 home victory over Northwest Nazarene University back on Dec. 9. With some two weeks in between games, the coach is looking for this team to shake off any rust that may have accumulated.
"It gives us some games between the Christmas break and the beginning of league play, which are hard games to get," Connor said.
Westminster is gunning for its fifth conference title in the last eight seasons. The Griffins rely heavily on senior guard Reeder and 6-foot-7 center Nate Sanchez. The big man has been averaging around 10 points per game and has shown good potential since returning from an LDS mission.
Senior Lance Barton should help on the boards. At 6-foot-8, he's the tallest player on the team. Reeder is playing the most minutes of any player on the team. The senior averages 33 minutes per game and scores 12 points per game.
Maybe the biggest surprise has been 3-point specialist Jordan Jacobs. The sophomore is leading the team in scoring at 13 points per game. Through November, Jacobs hit 24 out of 51 shots from 3-point range.
Connor believes his team has a great opportunity to make the season a success, in part because of team defense.
"We've established ourselves as a solid defensive team and that's how we're going to win games," the coach said.
In terms of getting better, reduced turnovers and improved bench play would make the coaches happy. The silver lining to Booth's injury means several freshmen are seeing increased action. Les Brown, Tanner Gregory and James Thompson have shown improvement and could get more minutes as conference play starts.
Westminster mens update
RESULTS/SCHEDULE
Westminster 86, Lakehead 55
Westminster 87, Lakehead 47
Concordia 89, Westminster 61
Westminster 59, Hope International 57
Azusa Pacific 69, Westminster 55
Eastern Oregon 85, Westminster 73
Albertson College 83, Westminster 80
Westminster 75, Lubbock Christian 60
Westminster 77, Albertson College 59
Westminster 67, Dixie State 65
Westminster 63, Adams State 62
Dixie State 67, Westminster 64
Westminster 83, NW Nazarene 82
Dec. 30 Westminster vs Transylvania U.
Dec. 31 Westminster vs Rockford U.
Frontier Conference
Jan. 6 — Westminster at Lewis-Clark SC
Jan. 12 — Westminster at MSU-Northern
Jan. 13 — Westminster at Great Falls U.
Jan. 18 — Montana Tech at Westminster
Jan. 20 — UM. Western at Westminster
Jan. 25 — Westminster at Carroll College
Jan. 27 — Westminster at Rocky Mtn. Col.
Feb. 3 — Lewis-Clark St. at Westminster
Feb. 8 — Great Falls U. at Westminster
Feb.10 — MSU-Northern at Westminster
Feb.16 — Westminster at UM-Western
Feb.17 — Westminster at Montana Tech
Feb. 22 — Rocky Mtn. at Westminster
Feb. 24 — Carroll College at Westminster
Feb. 28 — Frontier Conf. Tournament