The Westminster men's basketball team broke their two-game winning streak with a 86-62 loss to Central College (Iowa) on Tuesday evening. The Westminster Blue Jays are now 2-3 on the season with their two wins coming from conference play.

The Blue Jays drained three consecutive three-pointers to open the game with a 9-0 lead, forcing Central to call a timeout, but Central then sparked a 17-2 run to to take the 17-11 lead. Senior Matt Murphy made a three-pointer with 11:09 on the clock to bring the Blue Jays back within two, 19-17. 

Central pulled back a seven-point lead with seven minutes to play, but two layups from senior Brandon Drum and a layup from freshman Stu Hollandsworth brought the Blue Jays within one, 28-27. Central answered back with a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead with 3:08 left in the first half. The Blue Jays were unable to bring the lead back to single digits and the game headed into halftime with Central leading 45-33. 

To start the second half, Central took a 51-35 lead. With 8:45 to play, the Blue Jays trailed by 14 points, 65-51, and Central pushed their lead to 20 points with five minutes remaining. The Blue Jays were unable to recover and fell 86-62.

The Blue Jays shot 42.9 percent from the field with a 43.8 percentage from the three-point line. Murphy led the scoring for the Blue Jays with 15 points. Sophomore Romo Tabb, Hollandsworth and Drum each added eight points. Drum led the boards with seven including five defensive boards. 

The Blue Jays return back to conference play on Saturday, December 12, with a home conference match-up with Iowa Wesleyan University. Tip-off is at 6:00 pm due to finals.