Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven men's basketball team made history on Thursday night defeating Xavier University 71-56 in the quarterfinals of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament in Rugg Arena. It was the 23rd win of the year which is the most in the programs history for victories in a single season.

Belhaven (23-8) scored the first basket of the night on a layup by Isaiah Rice 40 seconds into the contest. Xavier (18-13) quickly answered on a jumper by Ryan DeRousselle to knot the score at 2-2 and from there the game turned into a half court battle for the next 10 minutes. Xavier was determined to slow the tempo and force the Blazers to work for shots on the offensive end of the floor.

The Gold Rush owned a 14-12 lead with 10:23 left to play in the opening period following a three point basket by Devin Andrew off an assist by Wanto Joseph. However, Woodie Howard responded with a jump shot a few seconds later to tie things up at 14-14. After both teams traded baskets during the next couple of minutes, the Blazers captured the lead for good on a layup by Nathaniel Roch'e with 6:37 to go before halftime. Roche's bucket began an 18-9 Belhaven run that resulted in 36-27 lead as the Blazers headed into the locker room.

Roche' made the first Belhaven basket of the second half giving the Blazers a double digit lead at 37-27which they maintained for the majority of the final period. The closest Xavier would get in the second half was six points at 40-34 with 14:59 remaining in the game. Belhaven made a concerted effort to up the tempo in the second half and it paid off as the Blazers pulled away for the 71-56 victory.

Krayleon Winston had big night for Belhaven scoring a game high 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the field. Winston was also dead on from beyond the arc connecting on four of his five triple tries. Roche' notched is ninth double double of the year with 12 points and a game high 10 rebounds. Six of his boards came on the offensive end of the floor and on defense Roche' rejected four Xavier shot attempts. Rob Wallace rounded out Belhaven's double digit scorers with 11 points in the contest.

As a team, Belhaven hit 41.8 percent of their field goals, 46.7 of their three point attempts, and converted 66.7 percent of their opportunities at the free throw line. The Blazers held a big edge on the boards outrebounding Xavier 44-26 on the night. Belhaven committed 16 turnovers compared to 14 by the Gold Rush.

Xavier had three players score in double figures on Thursday night. Devin Andrew led the way with 17 points followed by DeRousselle and Michael Harvey with 11 points and 10 points respectively. The Gold Rush made 39.6 percent of their field goals, 31.3 percent of their three point shots, and 56.3 percent of their attempts at the charity stripe.

Belhaven now moves on to the GCAC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday when they travel to Tougaloo to battle the Bulldogs. The Blazers went 1-1 against Tougaloo during the regular season including last Saturday's thrilling 89-88 victory by Belhaven in overtime in the season finale. The tipoff at Tougaloo is slated for 7:00 PM. Video from the Xavier game courtesy of Jason Hurst at WJTV can be viewed by clicking here.