Box Score
JACKSON, Miss.- The Belhaven men's basketball team found itself in another tight battle on Friday night against 6th ranked Southern Polytechnic State University, but unlike Tuesday night against Bethel, the final outcome went Belhaven's way in a 75-73 victory. The Hornets had the final look at the basket and nearly tied the game on a shot by Martavis Kee followed by a tipped ball that just stayed out the basket, allowing the Blazers to escape with the win.

Friday's game was a back and forth battle from the opening tip-off until the final buzzer. The opening minutes of the game gave insight into how things were going to play out over the course of the night. Belhaven (3-3, 1-0 SSAC) struck first on a free throw by Jonathan Ratliff 23 seconds into the game. Southern Polytechnic State (2-2, 0-1 SSAC) grabbed 2-1 lead 14 seconds later on a layup by Jarred Riley only to see Belhaven counter on a layup by Chris Cofield to make it 3-2.

The largest lead for either team in the first half was six points and the first occurrence came with 13:03 on the clock. Jordan Butts knocked down the first of his six three pointers on the night to give the Blazers a 12-6 advantage. The triple capped a 9-2 run that began with Belhaven trailing 4-3.

With five minutes left in the half and Belhaven leading 25-21, the Hornets engineered their best scoring burst, a 13-3 run to close the half and take a 34-28 lead into the locker room. Martavis Kee tipped in an errant shot by CJ McElrath as the buzzer sounded to cap the run.

Southern Poly went up by seven points at 37-30 early in the second before the Blazers were able to mount a charge and get back in the game. Belhaven regained the lead 45-41 on back to back three pointers from Butts with 15:04 to play. The Hornets quickly countered with a 6-0 run and all of a sudden the contest went back to the seesaw pattern of the opening frame.

The Blazers were on the verge of taking control of game when they went back up by six points thanks to a free throw from Terence Stringfellow that made the score 58-52 with 8:41 on the clock. Unfortunately, Belhaven was unable to deliver the knockout blow and Southern Poly recovered with a 7-1 run to tie the game at 59-59 on two free throws by Chase Robinson with just over five minutes to play. It was one of seven ties to go along with five lead changes throughout the course of the second half.

Belhaven stopped the bleeding on two free throws by Curt Hall that opened a quick 5-0 run that vaulted the Blazers back in front 64-59. Hall scored four of the five points with the other two coming on dunk that brought the crowd to its feet with 3:15 remaining in the game. Another Southern Poly run resulted in the final lead of the night for the Hornets at the 2:17 mark. A three point basket by McElrath made it a 65-64 game, but once again the Blazers answered with the next four points to  take the lead 68-65.

McElrath then dialed up another long range three to tie the score at 70-70, but four clutch free throws by Cofield gave the Blazers the advantage for good at 74-70. The Hornets made one last charge when Artie Marine fired in a triple for the Hornets with 20 seconds left; cutting the Belhaven edge to 74-73. Cofield dropped in one of two free throws and then the Blazers held off Southern Poly on the final possession to earn the 75-73 win.

“Our guys did a great job on defense and held a very good offensive team in check most of the night,” said Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken. “Our game plan was to go out and guard and put pressure on them. Our players did a great job of executing that tonight.”

Butts had another huge night for Belhaven, leading all scorers with a game high 24 points. Butts was 8 of 13 from the field and sunk 6 of 7 shots from behind the arc. Four players in all reached double figures for the Blazers. Hall followed Butts with 13 points, Pinkston added 12 points, and Cofield ended the night with 11 points and seven assists. Pinkston just missed a double double with a team high nine rebounds.

Belhaven made it to the free throw line 32 times and converted on 23 of the attempts. The Blazers were 23 of 47 from the field and 6 of 9 from three point range. Each team had 30 points in the paint. Belhaven won the battle of the boards 37-31.

McElrath turned in a 22 point night for Southern Poly while Kee and Robinson followed with 14 points and 10 points respectively. Ricky Fuller grabbed a team high seven rebounds for the Hornets. Southern Poly was 28 for 66 from the field (42.2 percent), 8 of 13 from the free throw line (61.5 percent), and 9 of 21 from three point distance (42.9 percent).

Belhaven will be back in action on Saturday night hosting the College of Coastal Georgia in another SSAC matchup starting at 5:00 PM. Fans can follow all the action through live video on the Blazers sports network by clicking here.