SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's basketball team was selected to win the Frontier Conference according to a poll of the conference coaches released on Wednesday. The Griffins received 47 total points and five first-place votes in the poll of the eight conference coaches. Defending NAIA national champion Rocky Mountain College finished second with 44 points and three first-place votes.

Westminster won the regular season championship and the conference tournament last season. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championships for the first time in school history. The 2009-10 team returns nine players from that squad. Senior Jeramie Hopson is the only returning starter from last season. Hopson averaged 8.3 points per game during his initial season with the Griffins. Also back is Weston Anderson who averaged 9.7 points per game despite missing seven games with an injury.

Montana Western was picked to finish third followed by Lewis-Clark and Montana State-Northern in a tie for fourth, Carroll College sixth, University of Great Fall Falls seventh and Montana Tech eighth. Teams were awarded seven points for first, six points for second, five points for third, four points for fourth, three points for fifth, two points for sixth, and one point for seventh. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Westminster begins the 2009-10 season on Friday, November 6 when they host in-state rival Dixie State on 7:30 p.m. in the Behnken Field House. The first annual Griffins Nest Hoops Fest night is schedule for Thursday, October 22 at 8:00 p.m.