ROME, Ga.- The Belhaven men's basketball team is gearing up to compete in the 2012 Southern States Athletic Conference-Conference Tournament in Rome, GA. This is the second consecutive SSAC conference tournament appearance for the Blazers after their tournament run ended in the quarterfinals against Emmanuel in round one of conference tourney play last season.

Belhaven will depend on senior Daryl Arnold, who led the Blazers in scoring this season averaging 14.8 points per contest. He is also the leader in steals tabbing 2.6 per game. Senior Woodie Howard is also a key component of the Blazer offense, averaging double figures in scoring for the Blazers at 13.3 points per contest. Other key contributors for the Blazers are junior Andrew Marshall who led the team in rebounds, averaging 6.9 per game while sophomore Chris Cofield leads the team in assists averaging 2.7 a game.

The Blazers recorded a regular season record of 14-15 while managing a conference record of 9-9. Belhaven held the number one spot in SSAC West Division play for six consecutive weeks, but a four game slide at the end of the conference schedule hurt the Blazers chances at a West Division title. After falling from the top spot, the Blazers picked up the number three seed in the tournament. The Blazers have their sights on Thursday when they take on the number two seed from the East Division Southern Polytechnic State University, who is also ranked #3 in the NAIA Top 25 Coach's poll, in the opening round of the SSAC tournament.

Southern Poly is led by Bobby Smith and Cortez Irby who score 15.2 and 10.4 points per game respectively. Irby is also the Hornets leading rebounder pulling down an average of 8.6 boards per contest. Southern Poly is a prolific three point shooting team ranking second in the nation in both total three's (296) and three pointers per game (10.2). The Hornet's also boast one of the best defense's in the country when it comes to steals, leading the nation in total steals (441) and steals per game (15.2).

Tip-off is slated for 3:00 PM at the Darlington School, the host school for the men's opening and second round tournament play. Belhaven lost 70-53 at Southern Poly in the only matchup between the two schools on November 19th. Fans can follow all the action through live stats by clicking here.