Box Score
JACKSON, Miss.-The Belhaven men's basketball team topped Mississippi College in the championship game of the Belhaven Holiday Classic Friday night 76-57 in Rugg Arena. The Blazers have now reeled off three consecutive victories including an 84-54 triumph over Rust College to open the tournament Thursday night.

Belhaven (6-9) trailed in the early moments falling behind 6-2 with just under two minutes gone by in the first half. However, the Blazers set the tone for the rest of the contest using a 14-2 run over the next six minutes to gain a 16-6 advantage. Junior Andrew Marshall notched two of his 15 points to start the run and senior Brittion Smith gave Belhaven its first lead at 8-6 on a layup with 16:34 to go in the half. The Blazers would not relinquish the lead from that point forward.

Mississippi College (2-7) made an effort to get back in it using an 11-2 scoring burst to close the gap to 18-17 with 8:39 until the break. However, Belhaven countered with a 12-0 surge to push the lead out to 13 points at 30-17, and eventually controlled the scoreboard by a 37-28 mark at halftime. The Choctaws could get no closer than seven points the rest of the night and the Blazers would eventually lead by as many as 20 points with just over five minutes to play.

Belhaven was led by senior Woodie Howard with 17 points followed by Marshall, who recorded a double double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. It was Marshall's first double double of the year and he leads the Blazers in rebounding with an average of 7.1 boards per contest. Senior Daryl Arnold chipped in 12 points and junior Jordan Butts along with Smith contributed 11 points each. Sophomore Chris Cofield produced a game high nine assists and picked up six points and three rebounds. Belhaven boasted a balance attack on offense with five different players scoring 11 points or more Friday night.

The Blazers owned the boards outrebounding Mississippi College 43-24, and fired in 55.4 percent of their field goals (31-56) which helped contribute to 42 points scored in the paint. Belhaven was also efficient from behind the arc filling up five triples in 10 attempts.

Mississippi College (2-7) was paced by Greg Pulliam with 17 points and four assists. Chad Jones and Brandon Blake each drilled home eight points in the game. Adam Smith grabbed six rebounds off the bench and posted four points. The Choctaws recorded a 41.7 percent shooting percentage from the field going 20 for 48. The Choctaws gave up 10 second chance points to Belhaven and struggled at the free throw line where they were 11 of 24 (45.8%).

Belhaven will be back in action on Friday night January 6th when they travel to Shorter University for an Southern States Athletic Conference contest at 6:30 PM. The Blazers will then face Lee University in Cleveland, TN on January 7th at 4:00 PM.