Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala.-The Belhaven men's basketball team muscled its way to a 56-49 Southern States Athletic Conference victory at Faulkner University Thursday night. The Blazers, who have now won five straight, took over the top spot in the SSAC West Division with the win.

Belhaven (11-11, 6-5 SSAC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead on back to back baskets by junior forward Andrew Marshall and senior forward Brittion Smith. Faulkner (9-11, 2-8 SSAC) countered with a 5-0 run and grabbed its first lead of the night at 5-4 with 16:28 to go until halftime. The back and forth trend would continue the rest of the night, with neither team owning more than a seven point lead.

The Blazers largest advantage in the opening 20 minutes came on a bucket by junior guard Jordan Butts, which put Belhaven up 11-8 with 9:46 on the first half clock. The Eagles topped out at a six point lead in the first half at 21-15 when Jake Mitchell fired in a field goal with just under four minutes to go. Belhaven tied the game twice in the final four minutes, but Faulkner closed the period with a field goal and free throw creating a 26-23 edge at the break.

Faulkner exploded out the gate in the second half and outscored Belhaven 8-2 to build the biggest lead of the night to that point at 32-25. The Blazer offense then landed a counterpunch, reeling off the next 10 points in the game to regain control of the scoreboard at 35-32 for the first time in the second half. Senior Daryl Arnold sunk the final field goal in the scoring burst with just under 12 minutes to play. The next nine minutes mirrored the first half with each team trading baskets. With the game tied 47-47, the Blazers were able to establish the foothold they had been looking for the entire night. Marshall put Belhaven in front to stay at 49-47 on a bucket with 3:15 to play and from there the Blazers outscored the Eagles 9-2 to close out the game and earn the 56-49 win.

Belhaven (11-11, 6-5 SSAC) was led by the duo of Marshall and Simth who each tossed in 13 points. Marshall was also Belhaven's leading rebounder with nine in the contest. Sophomore guard Chris Cofield added nine points and two assists while Butts picked up eight points and seven rebounds. The Blazers shot at a 44 percent clip from the field going 22 for 50 and won the battle of the boards 33-29.

Faulkner (9-11, 2-8 SSAC) had a double double performance from Adam Okechukwu with a game high 16 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Palmore added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles. Belhaven's defense limited the Faulkner offense to a 39.2 percent shooting night from the field (20-51).

Belhaven will be back on the court again on Saturday when they entertain Spring Hill College beginning at 4:00 PM. Fans can follow all the action through live stats by clicking here.