Box Score
Jackson, MS-For the first time since 1978, the Belhaven men's basketball team reached the 20 win mark with an 83-76 overtime victory over Gulf Coast Athletic Conference rival Southern University of New Orleans Saturday night in Rugg Arena. The Blazers improved to 20-6 overall and 10-4 in the GCAC with the win. Belhaven's 1978 team under the guidance of Head Coach Charlie Rugg was the last team to post a 20 plus win season with an overall record of 21-11.

The game started pretty well for Belhaven as the Blazers opened up a 12-7 lead with just over five minutes gone by in the first half. Bobby Grier gave Belhaven their first lead of then night at 4-2 on a pair of free throws and then Nathaniel Roche' tossed in a layup off an assist by Krayleon Winston to make it 12-7.

Unfortunately, the next ten minutes of the contest belonged to SUNO (9-13, 4-10 GCAC) as the Knights exploded on a 23-11 run in route to a 30-23 lead with 5:15 left on the first half clock. Belhaven pulled back to within two points at 34-32 on a layup by Tensley Cowan with 1:15 to go in the opening period, but a couple of late free throws by SUNO's Ronald Palmer gave the Knights a 36-32 edge heading into the locker room.

The Blazers regrouped in the first six minutes of the second half and when the dust had settled were back in front by six points at 46-40 with 14:17 to play. Winston capped the 14-4 run by Belhaven with one of his two triples in the contest off an assist by Rob Wallace. SUNO then engineered a 10-3 scoring spurt to recapture a one point edge at 50-49 on a trey by Brent Leduff with 10:01 remaining in the game.

Things went back and forth over the next eight minutes as neither team could take complete control of the game. During that time span, there were three ties and two lead changes. Leading 63-59 with just over two minutes left, the Knights watched as Belhaven scored the next six points to pull ahead by two at 65-63 with 1:16 left on the second half clock. However, the Knights evened the game for the 11th time on a field goal by Craig Kemp only to see the Blazers take the advantage back on a layup by Winston with seven seconds left.

SUNO's Lionel Green then got the free throw line on a foul by A.J. Taylor and knotted the game at 67-67 on a pair of free tosses at the charity stripe. Belhaven drove the length of the court with six seconds left in regulation, but a final shot attempt by Grier went off the mark right before the buzzer sounded sending the game into overtime tied at 67-67. Fortunately, Belhaven came out strong in overtime and put together an 11-4 run in the first four minutes of the extra frame to take control of the contest at 78-71. The Blazers then held off the Knights in the final 60 seconds to secure the 83-76 win.

Winston had a big night for Belhaven by pouring in a game and career high 26 points to lead the offensive attack. Winston went 9 of 13 from the field, 2 of 3 behind the three point arc, and converted 6 of 7 free throw opportunities. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists, and came up with three steals. Roche' notched his second consecutive double double with 17 points and a team high 12 rebounds which included seven on the offensive end of the floor. Grier added 15 points and Wallace followed with 12 points to round out Belhaven's double digit scorers. Grier and Wallace also contributed six assists and five assists respectively.

As a team, Belhaven made 41.1 percent of their field goals, 27.3 percent of their three point shots, and 64.5 percent of their attempts at the free throw line. The Blazers were on fire in the overtime period going 5 for 5 from the field. Belhaven cut down on their turnovers committing just 13 miscues while forcing 25 SUNO turnovers. The Knights held a slight rebounding advantage at 45-42 on the night.

Leduff paced the SUNO offense with 22 points followed by Palmer with 19 points and Lionel Green chipped in 18 points in the contest. Palmer led the Knights in rebounding with 12 boards while Green dished out six assists. SUNO made 46.3 percent of their field goals, 31.3 percent of their three point attempts, and made good on 69.2 percent of their opportunities at the free throw line.

Belhaven will return to action on Thursday night when they travel to Spring Hill College for another GCAC contest with the Badgers. The Blazers topped Spring Hill in the first meeting of the season 77-63 back on January 25th. Thursday night's tipoff is slated for 7:30 PM.