ST. LOUIS - Kobe Wands scored a game-leading 32 points in the team's 75-60 win over SLIAC opponent Fontbonne.
The Blue Jays improved to 13-8 overall and 9-5 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with the win.
"This was a super effort by our guys today, especially in the second half," said Westminster Head Coach Matt Mitchell. "Kobe Wands was spectacular today in shooting and handling the ball."
Westminster managed to commit only six turnovers in the game while forcing 20.
"That was clearly the difference in the game," said Mitchell. "We are looking forward to an exciting finish to the season."
Wands scored the first five points for Westminster to give the Blue Jays an early lead. Wands and Hollandsworth teamed up to score the next 10 points for Westminster, giving the Blue Jays a 15-7 lead with under 15 minutes to play in the half.
A dunk from Hollandsworth at the 12:20 mark gave Westminster its first double-digit lead of the game at 21-11. The Griffins fought back to come within four points with under five minutes to play, but a Kobe Wands layup broke up the Griffin scoring with a layup of his own. Five more Fontbonne points gave Westminster just a one-point advantage, but Wands and Nolan Huot answered with a small 5-0 run of their own. A layup and a three-pointer from Fontbonne made the score 35-34 in favor of Westminster after 20 minutes of play.
Fontbonne took its first lead of the game with a jump shot to open the second half, but Westminster quickly took it back on a three-pointer from Collin Caywood which sparked a 7-0 Blue Jay run to make the score 42-36 at the 16:28 mark.
Another Westminster 8-0 gave the Blue Jays back their double-digit lead with 14 minutes to play. The Blue Jays went up by as many as 15 before the 10 minute mark of the second half. Westminster continued to hold off the Griffins and maintain a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the game. A layup form Caywood at the 1:33 mark ended the scoring for both teams, making the final score 75-60.
Kobe Wands led all scorers with 32 points on 11-22 shooting, including 5-11 from behind the arc. Hollandsworth added 12 points.
Westminster returns home for a conference battle against Iowa Wesleyan Wednesday at 8 p.m.
