Box Score
Shreveport, LA-The Belhaven men's basketball team lost for the third straight time on Thursday night falling at 5th ranked LSU-Shreveport in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Action 70-62. Free throw shooting played a big role in the outcome of the game as the Blazers struggled at the line making only 15 of their 27 attempts. On the other hand, the Pilots cashed in on 70.3 percent of their shots at the stripe including 18 of 25 in the second half. In the first meeting of the season between Belhaven and LSUS, it was the Pilots who hurt themselves at the line which helped the Blazers pull out a two point 67-65 win back on January 14th.

LSU-Shreveport (20-2, 9-1 GCAC) tallied the first six points of Thursday night's game on field goals by Brance Davenport and Jared Stevenson. Belhaven (17-5, 7-3 GCAC) then rallied with a 10-3 run to grab their first lead of the contest at 10-9 with 12:39 remaining in the first half. The Pilots then jumped back on top 14-10, but the Blazers quickly responded with a mini 5-0 run to recapture a 17-16 edge following a pair of free throws by Bobby Grier with 9:55 left on the first half clock.

Belhaven eventually pulled out to a 28-25 advantage with just over three minutes to go in the opening period on a jumper by Krayleon Winston, but LSUS came back with four straight points to surge back in front 29-28. The Pilots then stretched the advantage to four points at 33-29 with 13 seconds on the clock, but a costly foul by Greg Shyne with two seconds to play in the first half put Rob Wallace at the free throw line. Wallace proceeded to cash in on the free throws and the Blazers trailed by only two points at 33-31 when the buzzer sounded.

Belhaven got the ball to begin the second half and promptly tied the game 33-33 fourteen seconds into the final period on a layup by Nathaniel Roche'. However, LSU-Shreveport turned the tide of the game by outscoring the Blazers 17-6 over the next nine minutes to build a 50-39 advantage. Belhaven cut the deficit back down to six points at 52-46 on the strength of a 7-2 spurt which was capped by a pair of free throws by Wallace to keep them in the game.

The Pilots countered with a 6-2 run to grow their lead back to double digits at 58-48 with 3:13 to play in the contest. Over the next two minutes, the Blazers chopped the LSUS edge down to 61-57 after a free throw by Woodie Howard with 1:10 remaining on the second half clock. Unfortunately, Belhaven could get no closer the rest of the way as the Pilots hit some key free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

The Blazers had two players reach double figures in scoring led by Wallace with 14 points followed by Howard with 11 points in the contest. Josh Luckett had a good night off the bench with eight points and a team high seven rebounds. Wallace dished out four assists to go along with his 14 points. Belhaven lost the battle of the boards 45-35 and had 16 turnovers compared to only 13 miscues by LSUS. The Blazers made 40.7 percent of their field goals and 21.4 percent of attempts from beyond the three point arc.

The Pilots were led on offense by Davenport who had a game high 20 points. Derrick Parker and Mark Jackson each had 12 points to round out LSU-Shreveport's double digit scorers. Parker notched seven rebounds and Stevenson dealt four assists to pace the Pilots in those respective categories. LSUS connected on 38.2 percent of their field goals and made good on just 15.4 percent of their three point opportunities. The win by the Pilots gives them a solid hold on first place in the GCAC standings by two games over Belhaven, William Carey, and Tougaloo.

The Blazers will try and get back on track Saturday night when they return home to face Dillard University beginning at 7:00 PM in Rugg Arena.