JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - Westminster men's basketball earned its third straight SLIAC win in a 77-52 victory over MacMurray.

The Blue Jays improve to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the SLIAC, while the Highlanders fall to 0-4 in the conference. 

"This was a great road win tonight," said Westminster Head Coach Matt Mitchell. "MacMurray played really hard and well the first half. Brent Long for them has been a quality player in our league for four years and he played really well tonight." 

Romo Tabb made the first eight points of the game for the Blue Jays but they still found themselves trading points with the Highlanders in a half that featured five lead changes and three ties. 

a Carter Wands layup with five minutes to play tied the game at 19, and a Jimmy Villalobos three-pointer put the Blue Jays on top 22-19. Collin Caywood hit a three-pointer to cap off an 11-0 run and put Westminster on top for the rest of the game. 

A quick 5-0 to start the half put Westminster on top 41-29 after just two minutes. The Highlanders came back in single digits with under 16 minutes remaining, but a Tanner Cochran three-pointer gave the Blue Jays a double-digit lead from which MacMurray never recovered. 

"Our defensive effort tonight was consistent and our pressure was the main reason we won the game," said Mitchell. 

Strong bench play gave the Blue Jays the edge in the second half, including three straight three-pointers from Javier Martin Ortega, who finished with nine points, and Collin Caywood who was a perfect 2-2 from three. 

"They were a huge lift for us and had a big impact on the game," said Mitchell. "It's always good to get a road conference win."

The Blue Jays were 12-28 (42.9%) overall from beyond the arc and 29-61 (47.5%) from the field. Jimmy Villalobos led the team in scoring with 15 points, going 4-7 from three-point range, while adding nine boards. Tabb finished the game  with 13 points while Cochran added 12. 

Westminster returns home for the first time in 2017 with a 3 p.m. matchup against Blackburn.