One night after opening the season with a win at the Calgary Cup, the Westminster College men’s basketball team rallied for a 74-73 win over Alberta on Friday at Jack Simpson Court.
Alberta got out to a quick start, and just over five minutes into the game it held an 11-2 lead. While the nine point deficit was the largest of the night for the Griffins (2-0), they wouldn’t take their first lead until a Colton Moon layup with 8:46 to play in the opening half. Westminster took a 31-30 lead into halftime after a three from Jordan Pryor with 1:11 on the clock.
Westminster maintained the lead for much of the second half; however, the largest it would ever lead was by five on two separate occasions during the half. After a bucket from Blake Skidmore gave Westminster a 61-59 lead with 7:04 remaining, Alberta scored eight straight points and led 67-61 with less than five minutes to play.
The Griffins responded with back-to-back hoops in the paint from Skidmore and Tallon Robertson followed by a free throw from Skidmore and another layup by Robertson to retake the lead. Both teams then traded the lead five times, and when Robert Dewar scored in the key with 26 seconds to play Alberta was leading 73-72. The Griffins then worked the ball into Robertson who scored at the rim with six seconds to play to secure the victory.
The game featured nine ties and 17 lead changes with 11 of those changes coming in the final 10 minutes of the contest. Westminster shot 45.8 percent from the field on the game and 51.5 percent after halftime. The Griffins limited Alberta to 40.7 percent shooting and overcame a 46-24 deficit on the boards by forcing 24 turnovers.
Robertson and Skidmore finished the game with 23 points apiece. Robertson went 10-of-15 from the floor with three rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal. Skidmore was 8-of-14 with three makes from deep and two steals. Pryor added 10 points off the bench with two triples.
Westminster looks to complete the sweep at the Calgary Cup on Saturday when it plays Calgary. The game will begin at 7 p.m. MDT at Jack Simpson Court.