Box Score
New Orleans, LA-The Belhaven men's basketball team overcame a 39-36 halftime deficit and came away with a 99-87 win in a non-conference contest at Dillard University Monday night. It was the second win of the season for the Blazers over the Bleu Devils after having won the first meeting between the two schools on November 12th 85-79.

Belhaven (12-9) had a monster game from Nathaniel Roche' who poured in a career high 36 points while coming up with 11 more rebounds for his 10th double double of the season. Roche' also surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career and now has 1,026 points in a Blazers uniform. Roche' could not be stopped in the paint as he knocked down 14 of his 18 field goals attempts. Roche' went to the line 14 times and made eight free throws. Roche' was effective at keeping possessions alive with six offensive rebounds as a number of his points came from put back shots off of rebounds.

Tensely Cowan had his best game of the year for the Blazers as he tossed in a season high 18 points. Cowan also recorded a double double matching Roche' with 11 rebounds. Brittion Smith chipped in 14 points and Rob Wallace added 13 points to round out Belhaven's double digit scorers. Wallace matched a season high with seven assists and picked up three steals. Bobby Grier and Chris Cofield had four assists and as a team the Blazers dished out 23 assists on the night.

Belhaven hit 51.4 percent of their goals (36-70) and 14.3 percent of their three point shots (2-14). The Blazers only took four three pointers in the second half and focused on getting the ball down inside. The Blazers went to the free throw line 37 times in the game and converted 25 of them (67.6 percent). Belhaven took 31 of their free throw attempts in the second half. The Blazers dominated the boards outrebounding Dillard 46-32 while each team committed 15 turnovers.

Dillard (6-9) was paced by Jermille Fluker with 27 points on 9 of 17 shooting from the field. Rashad Jones followed with 16 points, Myron McGowan had 12 points, and Lawrence Etah along with Cameron Hill 10 points each. McGowan led the Bleu Devils on the boards with seven rebounds while Fluker and Kenyon Harper had six assists apiece.

As a team, Dillard made 44.8 percent of their field goals (30-67), fired in 37.5 percent of their three point shots (9-24), and 64.3 percent of their free throw opportunities. The Bleu Devils had 18 total team assists in Monday night's contest.

Belhaven was a bit sluggish out of the gate and fell behind early in the first half 11-4. The Blazers took their first lead at 17-16 with 9:32 remaining in the opening period following a 13-5 run, but could not hold it as Dillard went back on top and enjoyed a 39-36 lead at the break.

The Blue Devils maintained their edge until Chris Cofield deadlocked the game at 57-57 on a free throw with 13:02 to go in the contest. Belhaven then took the lead for good with 11:50 to play on a Roche' tip in that found the bottom of the net and made it a 59-57 contest. The Blazers extended the lead to 68-60 on two Wallace free throws with 8:54 left in the second half, but Dillard had some fight left in them as they pulled to with one point three times over the next three minutes. Leading 73-72 with only 5:43 remaining, Roche' and Grier each bagged a free throw and then Roche' added another layup at the 4:55 mark to make it 77-72. At that point, Belhaven fed off the momentum and iced the game away at the free throw line with some clutch shots at the charity stripe to pull out the 99-87 win.

Belhaven will be back in action on Thursday night when they entertain Faulkner University in a Southern States Athletic Conference West Division matchup. The tip-off is slated for 7:30 PM and fans can follow all the action through live stats by clicking here.