Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven men's basketball team won for the third straight time Saturday night with a 96-87 win over Pensacola Christian College in Rugg Arena. The Blazers led by just three at the half, but put together a strong final 20 minutes to come away with their second victory against the Eagles this season.

Belhaven (6-3) was led by Rob Wallace who had a season and game high 28 points on the night. Wallace was coming off a 27 point performance against Tougaloo College last Saturday and is now averaging 20.3 points per game this year. Wallace was third in scoring in the Southern States Athletic Conference heading into Saturday's matchup. Nathaniel Roch'e had another big night for Belhaven with 20 points and a season high 18 rebounds to post his fifth double double of the season in nine games played. Roch'e is now averaging 15.3 points and 11 rebounds per contest.

The Blazers had two other players land in double figures with Forest Yarbrough cashing in a season high 14 points off the bench. Brittion Smith rounded out the double digit scorers with his 12 point contribution against the Eagles. Bobby Grier had only six points, but dished out a game high eight assists and came up with two steals on the defensive end of the floor.

As a team, Belhaven had a solid night shooting from the field connecting on 50 percent of their shots (33-66). The Blazers hit 45 percent of their triples (9-20) and made good on 72.4 percent of their free throws (21-29). Each team had 46 points in the paint and the Eagles scored 23 of their points off 19 Belhaven turnovers. The Blazers defense forced 12 Pensacola College miscues and converted them into 15 points. Belhaven won the rebounding battle 50-43.

Pensacola Christian College (3-10) also had four players in double figures led by Tyler Scott with 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field. Brooks Lindblad tossed in 17 points while Matt Goetsch added 12 points and Xavier Skinner chipped in 10 points off the bench. The Eagles had a pair of players with seven rebounds apiece with James Parks and Ryan Scott leading the way on the boards.

The Eagles hit 43 percent of their field goals (34-79), fired in 26.3 percent of their field goals (5-19), but hurt themselves tremendously at the free throw line going just 14 of 29 which equates to a percentage of 48.3 at the charity stripe.

Belhaven trailed early as Pensacola Christian opened up game with an 11-4 run just over three minutes into the contest. The Blazers then answered with an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the night. Wallace capped the scoring spurt with a layup on a fast break to make it a 12-11 game with 15:08 on the first half clock. The Eagles then countered with four straight points to regain the advantage at 15-12 about a minute later.

The first half continued to be a back and forth battle as Belhaven pulled out in front again at 17-15 on a layup by Grier. The lead changed hands six different times over the next six minutes with Belhaven owning a 32-28 lead with 6:56 to play in the opening half. The Eagles came right back again with a 9-0 run and bumped the lead to five following a three ball by Scott with 4:33 to go until the break. The Blazers then finally took the lead for good at 40-39with 2:50 left in the half on a pair of free throws by Detrick Johnson and eventually enjoyed a three point separation at the half 46-43. In total, there were seven ties and 13 lead changes in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Belhaven came out strong in the second half and outscored Pensacola Christian 18-9 in the first four minutes to open up a 12 point edge at 64-52. Wallace bagged a triple with 6:22 to go to make it a 20 point contest and it appeared as if the Blazers would cruise to the win leading 86-66. However, the Eagles did not give up and fought back to within seven points at 92-85 with 59 seconds on the clock thanks to a 19-6 run. Belhaven then tightened down the hatches and some key free throws by Brittion Smith, Johnson, and Wallace sealed the 96-87 win.

Belhaven will be back in action in an exhibition game against NCAA Division I Mississippi State University at the Fairgrounds Coliseum Wednesday night beginning at 7:00 PM. Ticket information for the game can be viewed by clicking here.