Box Score
JACKSON, Miss.- For the second straight game, the Belhaven men's basketball team took an opponent to overtime, but unfortunately the Blazers were unable to pull out their second straight victory losing to Bethel University (TN) 66-65 Tuesday night in Rugg Arena. Belhaven came into the game fresh off a 79-67 overtime win over Tougaloo Friday and were seconds away from another victory, but Bethel's Darnell Moore sunk a 12 foot jumper with 1.4 seconds left to put the Wildcats into the win column.

Turnovers were a plenty and points hard to come by in the first half as both teams combined for 33 miscues, limiting the offensive production for each club. Bethel (6-0) struck first on a jump shot by Moore giving the Wildcats the early lead at 2-0.  Belhaven (2-3) then went on an 8-2 run that established the largest advantage of the opening 20 minutes for the Blazers. Curt Hall sunk a free throw with 16:39 on clock to make it an 8-4 game.

Bethel's largest lead of the night came late in the first half when Gary Pollard converted a free throw with 2:13 on the clock, bumping the score to 30-22. Pollard's free throw capped a 10-0 run for the Wildcats that began on a free throw by Cole Nelson. The Blazers had enjoyed a 22-20 edge thanks to a triple by Jerrial Dawson prior to the 10-0 scoring burst. Belhaven pulled back to within five points at 30-25 with 35 seconds left in the half on an old fashion three point play by Datodrick Pinkston. Neither team added to their point totals before the buzzer sounded to end the half.

It took a few minutes, but Belhaven trimmed away at the deficit and eventually regained the lead at 39-37 with 14:15 to go on a layup by Curt Hall. Halls basket was part of a 14-2 run that lifted the Blazers out of a three point hole and put them up 48-39 with 10:52 remaining. Unfortunately, Belhaven was unable to deliver that final basket or two that could have put the game away.

Bethel kept it close and chipped away at the deficit over the final 10 minutes to tie the game at 58-58 with 1:28 left in regulation. The Wildcats defense forced some turnovers and pressured Belhaven into some tough shots to help get them back in the game. Bethel scored the first two points of the extra frame on a layup by Brandon Jones before seeing Belhaven go up 61-60 with 3:36 left in OT. That proved to be the pattern as each team took turns tying the game or leading by one. There were two ties and seven lead changes in overtime.

Hall put the Blazers in position to win the game with a pair of free throws making the score 65-64 in the final two minutes, but Belhaven couldn't capitalize on a missed three point attempt by Pollard which setup a layup opportunity on the offensive end of the floor. Dione Milsap's attempt was blocked by Brandon Jones and then another layup by Hall was swatted by Moore in the final minute. Pollard picked up the defensive rebound off the miss from Hall and got the ball into the hands of George Coleman. Coleman's triple from the left wing was off target with eight seconds left, but Moore chased down the offensive rebound and hit the game winner fading away in the high post. One final pass down the floor by Belhaven to try and get a shot before the buzzer was to no avail.

Pinkston had as season high 17 points off the bench to lead the Blazers offense on Tuesday night. Hall finished the game with 16 points while Deon Bedford and Jonathan Ratliff each had a team high five rebounds. Belhaven grabbed 49 rebounds holding a slight two board edge over Bethel, but turnovers were what stood out the most in the stat sheet. Belhaven had 28 miscues that led to 25 Bethel points. The Wildcats struggled in the turnover department as well, coughing the ball up 23 times on the night. The Blazers turned them into 17 points.

Bethel had two players notch double double's led by Moore with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jones had 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Wildcats whose leading scorer ended up being Pollard with 14 points.

Belhaven will take the floor again on Friday night when the team opens the Southern States Athletic Conference schedule against Southern Polytechnic State University beginning at 7:30 PM. Fans can watch all the live through the Blazers Sports Network by clicking here.