Box Score
Fort Worth, TX-Plagued by turnovers and a solid Texas Wesleyan University defense, the Belhaven men's basketball team dropped their second game of the season Saturday night at Texas Wesleyan 67-59. The 7^th ranked Rams improve to 7-1 while the Blazers fall to 8-2 on the season. The Blazers committed 26 turnovers which led to 24 Texas Wesleyan points.

                                     

Belhaven grabbed the lead early in the first half. After a basket by Kennith Gober put the Rams up 2-0 in the opening minute, the Blazers were able to tie the score on a pair of Iman Walcott free throws 35 seconds into the game. Belhaven then took the lead for the first time on a Krayleon Winston three pointer with 17:48 to go in the opening period to make the score 5-2. Texas Wesleyan then retook the advantage at 8-7 with 14:58 on the clock, thanks to a fast break layup by Kennith Gober.

 

A few seconds later the Blazers jumped back on top on a Korey Whiting jumper giving Belhaven a one point lead at 9-8. The game then went back and forth over the next seven plus minutes as both teams tried to establish the momentum. During that stretch, there were four ties and three lead changes. The Rams took the lead for good with 6:42 to go in the opening half on a layup by Chris Berry. The basket began a 21-10 run to close out the half for Texas Wesleyan with Rams holding a 39-28 lead at the break.

 

Korey Whiting paced the Blazers in the first half with 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the field. The Rams offense was anchored by Kennith Gober who tossed in 11 points. Belhaven knocked down 42 percent of their field goals. Texas Wesleyan drilled 50 percent of their attempts going, 14-28 from the field.

 

Texas Wesleyan was able to then maintain the lead for the rest of the game. The Rams biggest advantage came with 16:35 to play after a jump shot by Chris Berry made the score 48-34. Belhaven did not give up; closing the gap to four points three separate times in the final 20 minutes. With 8:40 to go in the game, Korey Whiting hit a free throw to make the score 53-49 Texas Wesleyan. The Blazers kept it close by staying within four to six points over the next five minutes. Texas Wesleyan then went on an 8-2 run with 3:28 to go, pushing their lead back to 12 points with just nine seconds left in the game. Two late baskets by the Blazers made the final score closer, but the Rams were able to come away with the 67-59 victory.

 
Korey Whiting racked up a double double with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Blazers. It's the fourth time that Whiting has reached double digits in points and rebounds this season. Iman Walcott also had a nice game for Belhaven adding 14 points and six rebounds. Belhaven hit 42 percent of their shots and struggled from three point range, going 2-14 from behind the arc. The Blazers did have a strong night at the free throw line, connecting on 78 percent of their shots at the stripe.

The Rams offense didn't fair much better as they managed to hit only 39 percent of their attempts. However, they were able to get 24 points off of turnovers and 22 second chance points due in large part to 17 offensive rebounds. The Rams had four players reach double figures in points. Chris Berry had 18 points followed by Kennith Gober with 14, Hector Mukweyi had 11 points to along with 12 rebounds, and Terrell Henry chipped in with 10 points.

The Blazers will return to action after the New Year January 5th at Mississippi College. The tip-off is slated for 7 PM.