MEN'S BASKETBALL: Westminster used a solid inside game to knock off 17th-ranked Azusa Pacific 83-69 on Saturday night. The 13th-ranked Westminster squad outscored Azusa Pacific 52-22 in the paint, led by 34 points from Geoff Payne. The win improves Westminster to 4-0 on the season and drops Azusa Pacific to 1-1.
Payne scored his 34 points on 15-of-19 shooting and no shots outside of 10 feet. He also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, coming one shy of his first double-double. Westminster used the inside scoring of Payne and Danny Stosich to turn a 33-29 lead with 3:44 left in the opening half, into a 49-344 advantage just five minutes later. The two combined for 12 of the Griffins' 16 points during that stretch.
Stosich finished the night with 12 points and four assists before fouling out late in the second half. Westminster shot 63.3 percent from the floor and held Azusa Pacific to just 42.3 percent. Westminster only committed 13 turnovers and scored 12 points off 15 turnovers by Azusa Pacific.