Box Score
NEW ORLEANS, La.-The Belhaven men's basketball team was on the short end of a 74-70 decision at Loyola University (NO) in a Southern States Athletic Conference battled on Thursday night. The Blazers own a half game lead over Loyola and the University of Mobile for first place in the SSAC West Division with two games to play.

Belhaven (14-13, 9-7 SSAC) had the upper hand early pulling in front 10-4 with just over five minutes gone by in the first half. Loyola then went on an 11-0 run to surge ahead 15-10 with 11:11 to go in the half. The Wolfpack held the lead for the remainder of the half and took a 32-29 advantage into the locker room.

The Blazers continued to trail to start the second half, but remained in striking distance eventually knotting the game at 48-48 on a Woodie Howard field goal with 12:17 to play. Loyola struck again with another 11-0 run which produced the Wolpack's biggest lead of the night of 59-48 at the 8:18 mark. Belhaven continued to battle and had trimmed the deficit to two points at 72-70 with 21 seconds to go on a triple by Howard. Belhaven was forced to foul and Corey Gray ended the contest by sinking the game clinching free throws with 15 seconds left. A last second triple by Howard was off the mark as Loyola claimed the victory.

The Blazers were paced by Howard with a game and season high 28 points. The senior guard also grabbed a game high eight rebounds. Senior forward Brittion Smith was the only other double digit scorer for Belhaven, dropping in 16 points in the contest. Junior forward Andrew Marshall added nine points and six rebounds followed by junior guard Jordan Butts with eight points and five rebounds. The Blazers struggled on offense going 28 for 76 from the field which equated to a 36.8 percent shooting clip. Belhaven had the advantage in rebounding 42-36.

Loyola had four players in double digits with Robert Lovaglio leading the pack with 20 points. Chris Joseph followed with 14 points, McCall Tomeny added 13 points, and Cameron Cates wrapped up the game with 12 points. Tomney and Cates matched each other on the glass with eight rebounds while Cates also dished out six assists had had five blocked shots. Loyola knocked down 55.4 percent of their field goals (31 of 56) and had 18 assists as a team.

Belhaven returns home on Saturday to face Faulkner University in the final regular season home game of the year. The Blazers have played well at home this season boasting a 10-4 record in the friendly confines of Rugg Arena. Saturday's tip-off is slated for 7:00 PM.