Box Score
BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss.- The Belhaven men's basketball team clipped Blue Mountain College in the season opener Saturday afternoon 83-79. It was also the dawn of a new era as Head Coach John Aiken picked up his first win.

Belhaven (1-0) came out strong in the first half and built what seemed to be a comfortable lead at the break, 42-31. Newcomers Jonathan Ratliff and Deon Bedford both poured in eight points to lead the Blazers in the opening 20 minutes of action.

However, Blue Mountain (1-0) regrouped at halftime and closed the gap to make it close down the stretch. Jarvis Fisher scored 14 of his 16 points in the final frame and he got some help from teammate Shane Butler who chipped in 19 points.

Belhaven countered with senior Jordan Butts, who put up 19 second half points to help the Blazers stay in front. Bedford also come up big with 11 more points and finished the game with 19 points helping Belhaven hold on for the win.

“I really thought we played well in the first half,” said Aiken. “We played with great intensity and our defensive pressure bothered the Blue Mountain guards. Blue Mountain made some big three's in the second half that allowed them to stay in the game and even take the lead at one point. However, I thought our guys showed a lot of heart and ability to handle adversity by responding as soon as Blue Mountain took the lead.”

Butts had a monster game, sending in a game high 25 points followed by Bedford with 19 points. Chris Cofield contributed 12 points and Ratliff had 10 points. Raheem Hogan grabbed a team high seven rebounds. Belhaven had a solid day shooting the ball, knocking down 47.8 percent of their field goal attempts (32-67).

Aiken was impressed with the play of his senior leader Jordan Butts and how the players came together as a team. “Jordan Butts really shouldered the load for us in the second half, making two triples and really carrying us at times. The thing I really like about this team is that it is a group of winners, they understand how to win and they approached this game with a very confident and focused mentality. It was a good start for us, but we have a long ways to go. We are excited about playing Freed Hardeman next week, they are #12 in the country and our guys are looking forward to the challenge.

Jarvis Fisher had 16 points to pace Blue Mountain with Shane Butler adding 14 points. DeVante Pulliam and Ricky Johnson each tallied 11 points for the Toppers who shot 46.4 percent from the floor as a team. Kevin Daniels ended the night with a game high nine rebounds.

Belhaven will head to 12th ranked Freed-Hardeman on Saturday for a 4:00 PM tip-off.