Box Score
Jackson, MS-Larell Bailey came up big on Saturday night drilling a game winning three pointer from deep in the left corner as the buzzer sounded to lift the Belhaven men's basketball team to a 79-78 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference over William Carey University. Bailey's shot was the second of two trey's in the final 15 seconds as the Blazers claimed a victory when it looked like the Crusaders had the game put away. Rob Wallace had the other clutch triple that helped set up the game winner by Bailey.

Things looked good for Belhaven in the opening minutes of the game as the Blazers jumped out to an 8-4 lead three minutes into the first half. Nathaniel Roche' had a pair of layup's while Wallace and Bailey each added field goals to get the offense rolling. William Carey quickly rallied to tie the score at 8-8 with 14:36 to go in the first period and then over the next six minutes both teams had to work hard to find their offense.

With the score knotted at 16-16, the Crusaders jumped back in front by four on a field goal by Jamal Doss and a pair of free throws by Drew Meyerchick. Belhaven then found themselves back on top at 24-22 after a pair of three pointers by Woodie Howard with 6:24 to go until halftime. Unfortunately for Belhaven, the final minutes of the half belonged to William Carey as they extended the lead to 37-29 and eventually took a six point 40-34 lead heading into the break.

Five minutes into the second half Belhaven had climbed right back into it dead locking the score at 49 all. The Blazers had a 9-2 run during the stretch that was capped off on a three pointer by A.J. Taylor helping to spark the game tying rally. William Carey quickly went back in front by seven points at 57-50 with 12:21 to play, but Belhaven eventually pulled to within two points again at 57-55 at the 10:30 mark of the second half.

The Crusaders appeared to have taken control of the contest after a three point basket by Brandon Cooks which established an eight point lead at 64-56 with only seven minutes left in the second half. However, the Blazers continued to fight and chipped away at the lead and trailed by just a point at 74-73 after a layup by Bobby Grier with less than 40 seconds to go. Forced to foul, Belhaven sent Terry Wade to the free throw line and he made good on both free throws extending William Carey's lead back to three points.

On the Blazers next possession, Bailey missed a potential game tying three pointer and Cooks got the defensive rebound and was immediately fouled by Roche'. Cooks converted both free throws and at that point things didn't look good for Belhaven down 78-73 with only a few seconds left. Wallace quickly came down the floor and drained a three pointer for Belhaven to cut the Crusaders lead to 78-76 with nine second to play. The improbable then happened as Howard stole the ball from Cooks, passed the ball to Grier who then found Bailey in the corner for the game winning shot that gave the Blazers the 79-78 victory.

Belhaven had four players reach double figures in scoring led by Roche' who had 18 points and 13 rebounds in route to his fourth double double of the season. Bailey had 15 points, Wallace added 14 points, and Howard tossed in 13 points on the night. Wallace along with Grier recorded five assists while Howard came up with a team high three steals.

As a team, the Blazers hit 40 percent of their field goals, made 31.8 percent of their three point shots, and converted 57.1 percent of their free throw opportunities. Belhaven had the rebounding edge at 45-37 and forced 14 William Carey turnovers.

Cooks led the way for the Crusaders with a game high 22 points and added a team high nine rebounds. Daniel Huggins scored 17 points off the bench while Meyerchick and Doss rounded out William Carey's double digit scorers with 14 and 12 points respectively. The Crusaders made 47.5 percent of their field goals, 30 percent of their shots from behind the arc, and converted 77.8 percent of their free throw opportunities.

Belhaven will hit the court again on Thursday night when they host LSU-Shreveport in another GCAC matchup. The tipoff in Rugg Arena is slated for 7:30 PM.