Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven men's basketball team put together a strong performance Saturday night on day two of the Coaches versus Cancer Classic Tournament with an 84-73 win over 13th ranked Trevecca Nazarene University in Rugg Arena. The difference in the game came down to rebounding and free throw shooting as the Blazers had a commanding 53-33 advantage on the boards and converted 28 of 40 free throw attempts.

The Trojans held an early 5-2 lead 2:30 minutes into the game following a three point shot by Jeremy Dixon and a pair of free throws by Mathew Elliot. Josh Luckett had the only Belhaven basket during that stretch on a layup off an assist by Bobby Grier. The Blazers outpaced Trevecca 14-7 over the next few minutes and took a 16-12 lead with 9:53 left until halftime. However, the Trojans responded with their biggest run of the night reeling off 11 unanswered points to grab a seven point advantage at 23-16 with exactly six minutes left in the opening period.

The turning point in the contest may well have been the 18-4 run engineered by the Blazers to end the first half. Bobbie Grier got the run started with a free throw and field goal and Belhaven (10-1) closed out the first half with a pair of free throws by Krayleon Winston after he was fouled pulling down an offensive rebound. Although the Blazers lead was only seven points at 34-27, the momentum had certainly shifted to Belhaven as both teams headed into the locker room.

Belhaven kept the pressure on in the second half and outpaced the Trojans 27-15 in the first 11 minutes of the final period building the lead to 19 points at 61-42. Trevecca (8-4) then pulled to within 11 points at 65-54 on a dunk by JP Nyadaro to put them within striking distance with just over six minutes remaining in the game. However, Belhaven had an answer as over the next five plus minutes the Blazers put the game out of reach with a 15-4 run resulting in their largest lead of the game at 80-58 with only 2:34 left on the second half clock. The Trojans closed the gap back to nine points at 82-73 with 11 seconds to go, but it was too little too late. Allen McClain added a couple of late free throws and Belhaven took home the 84-73 win.

Larell Bailey had a big night for the Blazers scoring a game and season high 21 points. Woodie Howard and Rob Wallace followed with 12 points apiece while Tensley Cowan rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points. Cowan and Nathaniel Roche' shared the team lead with nine rebounds on the night while Bobby Grier, Wallace, and Detrick Johnson dished out three assists each. Bailey and Roche' are tops on the team in scoring so far this year with 13.4 and 13.2 points per game respectively.

Belhaven made good on 39.4 percent of their field goals, 30.8 percent of their three point shots, and had one of their better nights at the charity stripe making 70 percent of their 40 attempts. The Blazers forced 16 Trevecca turnovers and due to 21 offensive rebounds Belhaven tallied 21 second chance points.
Keith Morris was Trevecca's leading scorer in Saturday night's game tossing in 16 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Mathew Elliot added 14 points while JP Nyadaro and Camden Jordan contributed 13 points and 11 points off the bench respectively. Elliot also had a game high five assists. As a team, the Trojans knocked down 37.3 percent of their field goals, went 7 of 25 from behind the arc for a 28 percent shooting clip, and converted on 57.1 percent of their free opportunities.

Belhaven will take the Holiday's off and return to action on Monday January 4th when they host Mississippi College in Rugg Arena. The tipoff against the Choctaws is slated for 7:00 PM.

Video highlights from Saturday's game courtesy of Jason Hurst at WJTV can be viewed by clicking here.