Westminster sports briefs

Westminster ranked 9th in preseason

Coming off its best men's basketball season in school history, Westminster will be starting in a favorable position to make the upcoming one memorable as well.

The Griffins are ranked No. 9 overall in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll released on Monday. The Griffins received 232 total points in the poll. Robert Morris (Ill.) received 301 total points and was voted No. 1 in the poll.

Westminster finished with a No. 6 ranking in the final NAIA coaches poll of the 2008-09 season. The Griffins return nine players, but just one starter, from a team that compiled a 30-5 record a year ago, swept both the regular season and tournament championships in the Frontier Conference and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NAIA National Championships.

Three other teams in the preseason top 25 poll are on the Griffins' schedule this season. Westminster will play No. 8 Concordia (Calif.) and No. 3 Fresno Pacific on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 at a tournament in Las Vegas. The Griffins will also face defending NAIA national champion Rocky Mountain College twice during Frontier Conference play.

Westminster opens its season on Nov. 6, when the Griffins host in-state rival Dixie State at Behnken Field House at 7 p.m.