Westminster men’s hoops has slow conference start

The preseason is often used to work out the bugs for a team and that’s exactly what Westminster is doing. Currently sitting at 12-6, coach Adam Hiatt said the caliber of teams the Griffins challenged so far this season will help to prepare them to take on its rivals in the Frontier Conference.

“This has been the most challenging non-conference schedule this team has ever seen,” he said. “We wanted to start preparing early for the conference play. I expected the team to be competitive and play with a lot of effort. I’m pleased with the performance so far.”

Hiatt has been a familiar face around Westminster for years, both as a player and as a coach. He was named head coach last year. Although many of the program goals have remained the same, Hiatt said he has had to make some adjustments to the defense.

“We’ve had some losses against top tier opponents. We made some small mistakes and our opponents walked right in to win the game,” he said.

Westminster opened up conference play on the road, taking on Montana Tech on Jan. 6 and Montana Western on Jan. 7. The Griffins dropped both games, leaving them 0-2 in conference play. The first test at home came against Carroll and Rocky Mountain. Hiatt said the level of play in the Frontier Conference is the deepest and most competitive he’s ever seen.

“There have been some years when we’ve known we were going to blow teams out by 20 points,” he said. “This year, there are no easy wins.”

Hiatt attributes the increase in difficulty to coaching changes around the league. Many of the teams in the Frontier Conference have had coaching changes in the past three years. Hiatt said a new coach can help elevate the program and make the team more competitive.

This year, the Griffins are led by senior Ben Walker and junior Jake Orchard, a Highland graduate. Orchard leads the team in scoring, averaging more than 16 points per game, with Walker close behind at more than 12 points per game. Hiatt said Orchard has been very competitive this season and been a major part of Westminster’s success.

One surprise on this team has been junior Alex Drexel. He didn’t get much playing time the first two years but Hiatt said he dedicated himself to the team this season and has been a strong force for the Griffins. He is 25-35 at the free throw line and averages nearly four rebounds per game.

“We have very talented players on this team. I expected them to play well and they are not disappointing me,” Hiatt said.