Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven men's basketball team opened up the 2010 Coaches versus Cancer Classic Tournament on Friday night with an 85-79 win over Dillard University in Rugg Arena. The game proved to be a classic back and forth battle with 13 ties and six lead changes in the game. The Blazers finally broke free late in the game by reeling off the final 10 points to lock down the win.

 

Belhaven (2-0) had three players with 20 points or more led by Nathaniel Roch'e with a game high 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field. Roch'e also grabbed 16 rebounds and has amassed 29 boards in just two games so far this year. Rob Wallace played well in the backcourt tossing in 20 points while dealing out seven assists and Daryl Arnold added 20 points and seven rebounds on the night. Britton Smith saw 29 minutes of action and contributed eight points while Stephen Collins fired in six points with two coming on a thunderous dunk in the second half that brought everybody in the arena to their feet and gave the Blazers some much needed momentum.

 

As a team, Belhaven hit 48.5% of their field goals, 7.7 percent of their three point shots, and 62.1 percent of their opportunities at the free throw line. The difference in the game was the battle in the paint which was won by the Blazers both on the boards and with points in the paint. Belhaven out rebounded Dillard 55-30 and scored 38 points in the paint. The Blazers committed 26 turnovers, but also forced 20 Bleu Devil miscues which led to 24 points on the offensive end of the floor.

 

Dillard (1-2) had two players reach double figures on Friday night with Terry Church leading the way with 21 followed by Jermille Fluker with 17 points. Myron McGowan had seven points and a team high nine rebounds before fouling out in the second half. Kenyon Harper chipped in five points and a team best four assists. Dillard connected on 44.1 percent of their field goals, hit 31.6 percent of their shots from behind the arc, and tossed in 65 percent of their looks at the charity stripe.

 

Dillard enjoyed the lead for the majority of the first and were out in front of Belhaven by seven points at 24-17 with 8:15 remaining in the opening period. The Blazers then went on a 13-5 run and grabbed their first lead of the night at 30-29 on a layup by Nathaniel Roch'e with 5:17 to play until the break. Belhaven then extended the edge to 38-33 on a jumper by Rob Wallace with 3:23 on the first half clock only to see the Bleu Devils rally and regain the advantage 42-40 with 58 seconds until halftime. However, Wallace got fouled in the act of shooting with four seconds left and drained a pair of free throws to close the first half and tie the score at 42-42.

 

Belhaven rolled out to a 52-46 lead in the opening five minutes of the second half, but once again Dillard battled back and tied the score at 58-58 with 10:48 to go in the game. The Blazers then went back on top by five at 67-62 on an old fashion three point play from Daryl Arnold at the 8:31 mark. The Bleu Devils put together one final charge and went up by four points on a Terry Church triple making the score 79-75 with just over four minutes to go. However, that would be the final points of the night for Dillard as the Blazer defense tightened up and closed the game with a 10-0 run to take the win. Detrick Johnson's two free throws with 2:56 left put Belhaven in front for good.