Box Score
New Orleans, LA-The Belhaven men's basketball team suffered their first Gulf Coast Athletic Conference loss of the season at Xavier University of New Orleans Thursday night 75-68. The Gold Rush found a way to slow down the Blazers offense that came into the night averaging over 86 points per game. The Blazers hurt themselves as well by committing 24 turnovers in the contest.

Xavier (11-9, 2-6 GCAC) controlled the lead at the beginning of the game and owned a four point advantage at 8-4 with four minutes gone by in the first half. The lone Blazer points were scored on field goals by Nathaniel Roche' and Larell Bailey. After spotting the Gold Rush their four point edge, Belhaven (17-3, 7-1 GCAC) reeled off a 5-0 run and took the lead for the first time in the game at 9-8 with 14:48 on the first half clock.

However, the lead did not last for long as Xavier quickly jumped back out in front and eventually went on top by seven points at 21-14 with just under eight minutes to go in the first half. The Gold Rush then extended the Blazers deficit to 10 points with 5:58 to play until the break. A field goal by Micahel Harvey capped an overall run of 18-7 that started right after Belhaven had taken the one point lead. The Blazers then began to turn things around and got the offense and defense on track resulting in a 13-0 run that put Belhaven back in the lead 29-26 with 2:27 to go in the opening period. Once again, Xavier regrouped in the final two minutes and went to the locker room at the break with a 32-31 edge over the Blazers.

The beginning of the second half was a back and forth battle as both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the final period. It appeared that the Blazers may have established a foothold in the game when they went up 54-45 following a three point basket by Krayleon Winston at the 9:07 mark. To that point Belhaven had outscored Xavier 23-13 in the final half resulting in what would be their biggest lead of the night.

The advantage was short lived as the Gold Rush owned the next eight minutes using a 26-9 run to sprint back ahead 71-63 with only 24 seconds to play. The Blazers did not back down and quickly scored the next five points to make it a one possession game in a matter of nine seconds. Rob Wallace dialed up a triple and then a steal by Winston led to a Winston basket that cut the gap to three points at 71-68 with now just 15 seconds to go. It was then Wallace's turn to steal the ball as he swiped the rock away from Michael Harvey and hoisted a potential game tying triple, but it went off the mark and essentially ended the game with eight seconds to go. Xavier iced the contest away with four straight free throws and posted the upset victory over the Blazers.

Larell Bailey had a good night for Belhaven as he led all scorers in the game with 19 points. Two other Blazers reached double figures as Wallace and Winston finished the night with 17 and 12 points respectively. Woodie Howard had only four points, but made his presence known on the boards with a team high eight rebounds. Bobby Grier recorded seven points and had a team best five assists.

As a team, Belhaven connected on 43.3 percent of their field goals, 37.5 percent of their three pointers, and 50 percent of their free throw opportunities. The Blazers had a 34-32 edge in the rebounding department, but had a hard time hanging onto the ball with the 24 turnovers.

The Gold Rush had four double digit scorers with Devin Andre leading the way off the bench with 18 points. Harvey tallied 17 points and a game best 10 rebounds in route to the double double. Wanto Joseph and Cordell Hadnot chipped in with 10 points each. DeRonn Scott only scored eight points, but was effective in finding his teammates for open shots with a game high eight assists. The Gold Rush knocked down 46 percent of their field goals, were very effective from three point range at 45.5 percent, and made good on 80 percent of their shots at the free throw stripe.

Belhaven will try and get back on track Saturday when they travel to cross town rival Tougaloo College for another GCAC contest. The Bulldogs are currently ranked 21st in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll. The tipoff is slated for 7:00 PM.