Tallon Robertson matched his career-high with 31 points as the Westminster College men’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid with an 86-79 win over Lewis-Clark State in a Frontier Conference game Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.
In a game that was played within a 15 point window throughout the night, it would take a stellar second-half shooting performance for Westminster (12-9, 5-3 Frontier) to escape with the victory. Trailing 33-29 at halftime, the Griffins shot 79.2 percent after intermission to rally for the victory.
Despite that superb shooting, Westminster still trailed for most of the second half as Lewis-Clark State (17-6, 4-4) was shooting 50 percent from the field in the half. Down 75-71 with 3:33 to play, the Griffins mounted a 9-0 run to take a lead they would not relinquish.
The run began with Robertson making two free throws and then Blake Skidmore hitting a jumper from the baseline to tie the game with 2:17 on the clock. After a defensive stop, Colton Moon found Jordan Pryor for a three from the left corner that put Westminster in front 78-75 with 1:59 remaining. The Griffins closed out the game by making 8-of-10 free throws.
Robertson used an 11-for-17 shooting performance to match the 31 pints he scored at Pacific Union last month. He was also solid at the stripe where he connected on nine of his 12 attempts, including a perfect 4-for-4 in the final minute. Robertson also grabbed five rebounds with four steals, three blocked shots and two assists.
The Griffins finished the game shooting 55.8 percent from the floor to overcome a 3-of-11 night from beyond the arc. They were able to score 46 points in the paint and had an 18-4 edge in fast break points, a season high. Westminster forced LC State into 19 turnovers, which it turned into 15 points.
Skidmore added 13 points with Casey Evans going for 12 points and a team-best six rebounds off the bench. Nick Jenson scored 11 points and had four rebounds. Colton Moon handed out five assists, and Adam Egan had three assists and two steals.
LC State was led by 15 points off the bench from Jon Humphrie. The Warriors had a 46-18 advantage in bench scoring with Robert Ellis also scoring 10. Jacob Champoux and E.J. Farris finished with 11 points apiece.
Westminster is now one-half game out of first in the Frontier Conference race as it hits the road for a pair of games next week. The Griffins open the trip at Dickinson State at 7 p.m. MST on Thursday.