Westminster Men's Basketball Falls to MSU Billings 83-73

The Westminster University men’s basketball team opened its 2026-27 regular season with an 83-73 loss to Montana State University Billings at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

Christopher Cox paced the Griffins with 18 points and eight rebounds in the opening-night defeat. Quentin Meza and Jake Nadauld chipped in 16 points apiece.

MSU Billings struck first before Westminster answered with baskets from Cox, Jackson Rose, and Janne Müller. A driving layup by Cox at the 15:29 mark knotted the score at 11-11. Nadauld followed shortly after with a layup at 15:04 to give the Griffins their first lead at 13-11.

The hosts fought back to level the score at 13-13 before Westminster mounted a six-point surge. Nadauld converted inside, Müller capitalized on a fast-break layup following a Meza steal, and Patrick Anamali scored at the rim to stretch the advantage to 19-13 with 13:18 remaining in the first half.

MSU Billings eventually reclaimed control, carrying a 43-34 lead into halftime despite Westminster shooting 50 percent from the field on 15-of-30 shooting in the opening frame.

Anamali kickstarted the second-half scoring with two free throws, and Meza connected from beyond the arc at the 17:52 mark. Later in the period, the Griffins pieced together an 8-0 run fueled by a Pleyer steal, a Cox three-pointer, and a second-chance three from Meza off an offensive rebound and assist by Anamali.

Anamali capped the scoring with a layup in the final seconds off a feed from Pleyer to establish the 83-73 final score. Westminster dominated the glass, out-rebounding MSU Billings 47-40 with 21 offensive boards yielding 18 second-chance points. The Griffins also outscored their opponents 42-38 in the paint and 33-22 in bench production.

Cox shot 7-of-14 from the floor to finish with his team-high 18 points, adding eight rebounds and an assist with 11 points coming after halftime. Meza tallied 16 points, three-pointers, five rebounds, a steal, and a team-best four assists. Nadauld shot 7-of-13 off the bench for his 16 points, while Anamali pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds—seven on the offensive end—alongside nine points, two assists, a steal, and a block.

Pleyer contributed seven points, two assists, and a steal, and Müller rounded out the core rotation with four points and five rebounds.

The Griffins travel to Denver next for a pair of matchups at Regis University. Westminster faces UT Dallas on Friday, Nov. 13, at 4 p.m. MT, followed by a game against the University of Texas at Tyler on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4 p.m. MT.