Box Score
New Orleans, LA-Trailing by nine points at halftime, Belhaven outscored Loyola University 48-33 in the final 20 minutes to pull out a 79-73 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference victory on Saturday night in New Orleans. Nathaniel Roche' powered the Blazers on both ends of the floor with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocked shots. It was Roche's seventh double double of the 2009-10 campaign.

Loyola (13-14, 5-11 GCAC) had the upper hand early on and during the first eight minutes of the game established a 12 point lead at 17-5. The Blazers climbed back to within four points at the 5:37 mark following a pair of free throws by Detrick Johnson to make it 30-26 Loyola. However, that's the closest Belhaven would get for the remainder of the first period as the Wolfpack outscored Belhaven 10-5 in the final minutes of the opening half to take a 40-31 lead into the locker room.

Belhaven (21-7, 11-5 GCAC) came out inspired in the second half and went on a 15-4 run to grab a 46-44 lead on a field goal by A.J. Taylor. Ryan Brock briefly tied the game at 46-46 on a basket with 14:40 remaining in the contest, but moments later Roche' cashed in on two of his 17 points with a layup that put the Blazers on top again at 48-46. From that point on, Belhaven would never relinquish the lead although they could not quite put the game away.

The Wolfpack were within four points at 73-69 with a little over 30 seconds left to play in the game. However, Belhaven went six for six at the charity stripe down the stretch to ice the game away. Larell Bailey, Detrick Johnson, and Krayleon Winston each made a pair of free throws to secure a much needed win for Belhaven.

Roche's game leading 17 points and 13 rebounds boosted his scoring average to a team high 12.5 points per contest. He also paces the team in rebounds per game at 7.6. Along with Roche', two other Blazers landed in double digits on Saturday night. Winston tallied 13 points and Johnson added 12 points in the Blazer victory

As a team, Belhaven made 43.5 percent of their field goals, 14.3 percent of their three point shots, and had their best night of the season at the free throw line. The Blazers made 24 of their 29 attempts at the charity stripe which equates to an 82.8 percent shooting percentage. The only other time Belhaven shot over 80 percent at the line as a team was in a 74-54 win at Dillard on January 7th. Loyola had a slight edge in the rebounding department at 42-39, but the Blazers committed only 14 turnovers and forced 16 Wolfpack miscues.

Loyola was led by Torry Beaulieu who along with Roche' notched a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brock joined Beaulieu with 14 points while Corey Gray and Cameron Cates followed with 11 points and 10 points respectively. Belhaven held the Wolfpack to a 39.7 percent shooting clip from the field. Loyola hit 29.4 percent of their three pointers and converted 70 percent of their free throw opportunities.

Belhaven will return to action on Thursday night when they travel to the University of Mobile for a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference showdown with the Rams. Belhaven now finds themselves in a tie for second place with William Carey in the league standings after the Crusaders were upset by Southern University at New Orleans on Saturday. Thursday's game at Mobile is slated to get underway at 7:30 PM.