Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven men's basketball team tipped off the 2011-12 season on Tuesday night with a 67-63 victory over Blue Mountain College in Rugg Arena. The Blazers led for the majority of the contest and held on at the end for the victory.

Belhaven (1-0) rolled out to a big lead in the first half following a pair of free throws by Michael Halford that gave the Blazers a 26-11 edge with 6:44 remaining in the first half. Blue Mountain (0-1) then began to chip away at the deficit thanks to a 21-7 run which culminated on a three point field goal by Jarvis Fisher that just beat the buzzer to end the first half making the score 33-32 Belhaven.

The Toppers enjoyed their only lead of the night at 34-33 when Devante' Pulliam dropped in the first two points of the second half. The Blazers then put together a 9-0 run and rebuilt the lead to 42-34 with 16:48 to play on a jump shot by Woodie Howard. Blue Mountain fought back to within two points with just over a minute to go, but Jordan Butts and Chris Cofield iced the game away for Belhaven with a pair of free throws and the defense kept the Toppers off the board to secure the 67-63 win.

Belhaven was led by Butts and Cofield who each tossed in 12 points on the night. Cofield also picked up six rebounds and was 7 of 10 from the charity stripe. Andrew Marshall and Brittion Smith posted nine points each followed by Daryl Arnold who had seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and a game high three blocked shots and four steals. As a team, Belhaven blocked nine Blue Mountain field goal attempts and forced 26 turnovers leading to 26 Blazer points. Belhaven also had a huge edge at the free throw line with 42 attempts compared to only eight looks for Blue Mountain.

Blue Mountain had three players in double figures led by Pulliam with a game high 15 points. Chris Whitten contributed 12 points and five rebounds and Fisher ended the night with 10 points. Corbin Harris had five assists and six points to round out the offensive leaders for Blue Mountain.

Belhaven will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Union University (TN) for a non-conference matchup with the 22nd ranked Bulldogs. Saturday's tip-off is slated for 4:00 PM.