Box Score
Mobile, AL-The Belhaven men's basketball team didn't have an answer for Ji Kimbrough and the University of Mobile as the Blazers dropped a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference contest against the Rams 85-79 Thursday night in Mobile. Kimbrough had a game high 39 points and went 13 of 27 from the field to help guide the Rams to the victory. The loss drops Belhaven into a tie for third place in the GCAC with William Carey after the Crusaders lost at Tougaloo 98-92 on Thursday.

Belhaven (21-8, 11-6 GCAC) had the upper hand early on and through the first two minutes of the game held a 7-4 lead following a three pointer by Larell Bailey. The Blazers then extended the advantage to 12 points at 31-19 with just under eight minutes left in the opening period on another triple by Bailey. However, that's when Mobile (17-9, 10-7 GCAC) began to swing things in the other direction exploding on a 17-3 run to gain a 36-34 edge with 3:15 left until halftime. The go ahead basket by the Rams was a triple delivered by Marcus Polnett. From that point on, Mobile would not trail again for the rest of the night.

Leading 41-38 at halftime, the Rams bumped their advantage to 10 points at 52-42 thanks to an 11-4 run to open up the final period. Belhaven then closed the gap to 52-50 on an 8-0 run of their own to get right back into the game. A.J. Taylor began the scoring spurt with a field goal and Tensley Cowan capped it with a pair of free throw shots with 12:15 remaining in the game. The Rams then got back on track and engineered a 16-7 run pushing their lead back out to double digits at 68-57 with just over eight minutes to go in the contest.

Belhaven had one more big push and got back to within one point of Mobile twice in the final four minutes of the game. Krayleon Winston cut the deficit to 70-69 only to be answered by Kimbrough with a field goal of his own to make the score 72-69. A few seconds later, Detrick Johnson bagged a pair of free throws to get the Blazers to within one point, but once again Kimbrough came through for the Rams with another two point basket to extend their lead back to three points at 74-71. Belhaven potentially was a defensive stop and another basket away from possibly turning the tide late in the game.

Following Kimbrough's basket, Mobile went on to score seven unanswered points to put the game away leading 81-71 with 47 seconds left in the contest. The Rams proceeded to run out the clock securing the 85-79 win.

Belhaven was led by Bailey who had a team high 19 points on a 7 of 12 shooting night from the field. Nathaniel Roche' had another solid game for the Blazers adding 18 points and six rebounds off the bench. Rob Wallace finished the night in double figures with 14 points. Belhaven lost the battle of the boards 47-35 and turned the ball over 18 times compared to only 13 miscues by Mobile. The Blazers made 44.1 percent of their field goals, 50 percent of their shots from behind the arc, and converted 65.6 percent of their free throw opportunities.

Kimbrough set two Mobile records for most field goal attempts and free throw attempts in a game with 27 and 21 respectively. He also collected eight rebounds to go along with his 39 points. Donte Walker fired in 20 points and Robert Golston recorded a double double with 16 points and a game high 10 rebounds. The Rams made 40.6 percent of their field goals, 33.3 percent of their three point shots, and 55.8 percent of their opportunities at the free throw line.

Belhaven will close out the regular season on Saturday when they entertain GCAC cross tow rival Tougaloo College in Rugg Arena. The game will be key in determining seeding for the GCAC tournament. The Bulldogs are a game ahead of Belhaven in the standings and beat the Blazers earlier in the season 89-83. Saturday's tipoff is slated for 7:00 PM.