Westminster campus briefs

MEN'S BASKETBALL: The three-time defending Frontier Conference champion Westminster men's basketball team released its 2010-11 schedule on Monday. The Griffins will play 13 games at home in the Behnken Field House from November to February, including playing host to two tournaments. This schedule includes six teams that won at least 20 games last season and also six teams that qualified for the NAIA national championship tournament.

The season begins with the Westminster Tipoff Classic on Nov. 5-6. The Griffins face San Diego Christian and national tournament team Olivet Nazarene during opening weekend. Rocky Mountain College is also in town that weekend to face the two teams in the early game each day of the tournament.

The next two weekends, Westminster hits the road for the first time in the new season. The Griffins go to Las Vegas for games against Vanguard and Fresno Pacific on Nov. 12 and 13, respectively. Fresno Pacific advanced to the second round of last season's national championship. The next weekend, Westminster travels to Caldwell, Idaho, for its annual appearance in the Golden Rule Shootout hosted by the College of Idaho. The Griffins open the event against Warner Pacific on Nov. 19 and play the host College of Idaho on Nov. 20.

Then it's back home for the Westminster Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 26-27. The Griffins welcome Warner Pacific and Colorado Christian to town. The Warner Pacific game is on Nov. 26 while the Griffins face Colorado Christian on Nov, 27. Warner Pacific qualified for the NAIA D-II National Championship last season, while Colorado Christian plays in the NCAA D2Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Montana Tech will face the opposite team of the Griffins in the early game each day.

The Frontier Conference schedule begins with a home game versus Montana Tech on January 6th. Westminster has beaten the Orediggers 19 consecutive times. The Griffins will make their road debut in conference play against Carroll College on January 13th.

Following a doubleheader with William Jessup in the Behnken Field on Dec. 3 and 4, Westminster will travel to southern California for games against Point Loma Nazarene and Azusa Pacific. Westminster will face Point Loma Nazarene on Dec. 18 in San Diego and then Azusa Pacific on Dec. 20 in Azusa, Calif. Azusa Pacific is the team that eliminated the Griffins from the NAIA Tournament last year, when Azusa Pacific eventually lost in the NAIA national championship game.

The year of 2010 comes to an end with games in Phoenix, Ariz., at the Grand Canyon Classic. Westminster will play two games at the tournament and is still waiting for the final pairings to be announced. The tournament will be hosted by Southwestern College.