Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven men's basketball team used a strong second half performance on Monday night propelling them to a 77-63 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference victory over Spring Hill College. The 12th ranked Blazers outscored the Badgers 41-30 in the final 20 minutes of the contest to keep sole possession of first place in the GCAC standings. The Blazer bench played a keyed role once again in the win thanks to a 40-16 scoring advantage over Spring Hill.

Belhaven (17-2, 7-0 GCAC) established a five point lead at 8-3 with just under four minutes gone by in the opening half on three pointers by Rob Wallace and Bobby Grier along with two free throws by Nathaniel Roche'. The Blazers then pushed their advantage to 10 points at 15-5 with 13:57 left in the first period following another triple by Larell Bailey. However, Belhaven could not deliver an early knockout punch and Spring Hill engineered a 21-6 run which eventually gave the Badgers a 26-21 edge with 6:11 to play before halftime.

The Blazers then reeled off the next six points and got back on top at 27-26 on a jump shot by Wallace with 4:46 showing on the clock. Spring Hill (10-6, 4-3 GCAC) pulled back ahead momentarily 33-31 on an Owen McNally field goal, but the Blazers answered with an old fashion three point play by Roche' with 1:28 to go before the break. The score remained 34-33 until an offensive rebound and last second basket by Roche' following a missed jumper by Krayleon Winston gave the Blazers some momentum and a three point lead at 36-33 when the buzzer sounded.

Belhaven's bailey dialed up a three pointer to kickoff the second half extending the edge to 39-33 29 seconds into the final half. Spring Hill made one final surge overtaking the Blazers with 16:02 to play on a layup by McNally. McNally's basket made it 44-43 Badgers, but it would prove to be the last lead of the night for Spring Hill. The turning point in the game came a few momentums later when Belhaven exploded for 12 unanswered points and all of a sudden led 55-44 midway through the second half.

The 12-0 run then turned into a 27-4 Blazer run that for all intensive purposes put the game away with the score 70-48 and only 5:45 on the clock. The Badgers eventually cut the deficit to 13 points at 76-63, but with only 22 seconds to go in the game it was too little late as Belhaven pulled away for the win.

The Blazers had a pair of players reach double digits in scoring led by Tensley Cowan with 13 points and a team high five assists off the bench. Wallace ended the night with 11 points while Roche' chipped in nine points and nine rebounds. Krayleon Winston recorded nine points and five rebounds as the Blazers got some balanced scoring up and down the lineup.

Belhaven hit 42.7 percent of their field goals for the game, but in the second half overcame a slow start in the opening period by connecting on 48.6 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes. The Blazers made 37.5 percent of their three pointers and had a good night at the free throw line going 7 for 9. Belhaven owned the boards with a 52-40 rebounding edge which included 20 on the offensive side of the floor. The Blazers forced 15 turnovers and came up with four blocked shots.

Spring Hill's Antonio Burch led the way for the Badgers with a game high 16 points on 5 of 13 shooting from the field. Nick Brown turned in a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Owen McNally fired in 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Due to another strong defensive performance by the Blazers, Spring Hill was held to 33.8 percent shooting from the field. The Badgers made 40 percent of their triples and 62.5 percent of their shots at the free throw stripe.

Belhaven will be back in action in Thursday night when they travel to New Orleans to face Xavier University in another GCAC contest. The tipoff is slated for 7:30 PM.