From the tip of the 3pm contest between Westminster and Blackburn, Westminster made a point to come out strong. "Westminster played harder from the start," said Blackburn head coach Steve Kollar. As the game flow continued, Westminster was able to control the tempo and offensive glass by forcing Blackburn into turning the ball over while they controlled the offensive glass as well. Those offensive rebounds contributed to multiple easy put backs as they were able to climb out to an early lead. "The key factor was offensive rebounds. That's way too many in a game let alone a half," stated Coach Kollar. Foul trouble early meant Blackburn played a majority of the first half without one of their leading scorers, DeAndre Manual. Coach Kollar emphasized that while DeAndre is a great player, in that situation the team needs to step up. "DeAndre missing affects us. He's a great player that contributes in many categories for us. When that happens, we must step up collectively as a group and play through it."

Blackburn returns to action Wednesday night at home against first place Iowa Wesleyan. Tip off is at 8pm.