Box Score
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-The Belhaven men's basketball team gave second ranked Oklahoma Baptist all it could handle in the opening round of the 2012 Buffalo Funds NAIA National Championship Wednesday night, but fell 68-62 in what was the season finale. The Blazers held a 55-45 lead with 7:37 left, but the Bison outscored Belhaven 23-7 over that stretch for the come from behind victory.

Belhaven (16-17) fell behind early at 6-2 following a three point bucket from Emmanuel Wilson which ended up being one of seven triples for Wilson on the night. Wilson finished with a game high 22 points.

The Blazers responded and clawed ahead at 12-8 on a field goal by senior forward Daryl Arnold with 15:12 left in the first half. The bucket accounted for two of Arnold's team high 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the field. Oklahoma Baptist went on a 6-0 run and regained the lead, holding the upper hand for most of the half. The Bison ended up owning a 31-29 at the break when the buzzer sounded.

The Blazers came out on fire in the second half and ran off a 9-1 run to establish a 38-32 lead. Arnold, along with seniors Woodie Howard and Brittion Smith, knocked down some key baskets in that stretch to build the lead. The Bison trimmed the deficit to 47-45 on a three pointer by Wilson with 10:41 on the second half clock, but the Blazers reeled off eight straight and took the 55-45 advantage.

The Bison then swung the momentum and drew within one on a steal and field goal by Jacobi Isham to make it 58-57 with 2:20 to go. Heath McKay and Emmanuel Wilson followed with two straight back breaking three pointers that vaulted the Bison back on top 63-58 with 1:11 to play. They then rode the momentum to the victory and a matchup in the second round with Columbia College (MO) on Friday night at 6:15 PM.

Arnold led the Belhaven attack with 16 points followed by Smith with 12 and a team best seven rebounds. Arnold has scored in double figures in 25 of Belhaven's 33 games this season and 34 times in his career as a Blazer. Sophomore guard Chris Cofield added 11 points and four assists followed by junior guard Jordan Butts with 10 points. Belhaven shot 47.7 percent from the field (21 for 44) and converted 18 of 25 shots at the free throw line (71.4 percent). The Blazers were outrebounded by Oklahoma Baptist 35-26.

“Our guys practiced so well and played so hard for the last three weeks getting ready for this tournament,” said Belhaven head coach Tom Kelsey. "Our seniors Daryl Arnold, Woodie Howard, and Brittion Smith; they got our guys focused and we played really hard and believed good things could happen. Oklahoma Baptist is a great team and they are where they are for a reason.”

Wilson led all scorers with 22 points for Oklahoma Baptist followed by McKay with 16 points and Derick Echols finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds. One of the big keys in the game was three point shooting as the Bison drilled 11 triples in the in game. OBU ended the night by cashing in on 24 of 52 shots from the field (46.2 percent).

Fans can see highlight's from Wednesday's game by clicking here.