Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala.- The Belhaven men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 67-66 Southern States Athletic Conference loss at Auburn University-Montgomery Saturday afternoon. The Blazers rallied from a 15 point deficit in the second half and owned a 66-64 lead with six seconds to play. AUM's Quay Davis drilled a triple deep on the right wing as time expired giving the Warhawks the victory.

Belhaven (9-12, 5-4 SSAC) had to battle from behind for most of the afternoon with the only lead in the first half occurring in the opening minute. When a potential basket by junior Chris Cofield was waved off due to a charging foul, Chris Bell put up the first points of the game on a layup for Auburn-Montgomery (6-9, 5-4 SSAC). The Blazers then countered with a triple by junior Luke Rogers to make it 3-2 with 19:08 left in the first half.

The Warkhawks pulled in front on a three pointer by Tristen Harrell and from there proceeded to score six more consecutive points to take an 11-3 advantage with 15:51 showing on the clock. The 9-0 run was the catalyst for a strong first half that enabled AUM to keep the lead until late in the second half.

Belhaven's biggest deficit was 11 points after a Davis triple bumped the score to 29-18 with 4:48 to go in the half. The Blazers stayed close for the final five minutes and a field goal from senior Jordan Butts as time expired gave Belhaven some momentum going to the locker down 34-26.

Any momentum gained on the bucket by Butts was short lived as AUM reeled off the first six points of the second half to build a 40-26 lead. Brent Person then gave the Warkhawks their largest lead of the game 46-31 on a layup at the 14:30 mark of the second half.

With their backs against the wall, Belhaven began to chip away at the deficit one field goal at a time, which eventually turned into a 10-0 run. Butts began the comeback with two free throws and a fast break layup by sophomore Datodrick Pinkston cut the score to 46-41 with 12:26 to play. The Warkhawks responded with a 5-0 run of their own pushing the lead back to double digits at 51-41 with 11:40 left.

However, that didn't dampen Belhaven's spirits as the team showed a tremendous amount of toughness to counter again with an 11-4 run. This time the Blazers climbed to within one possession at 55-52 after two more free throws by Butts. Belhaven continued to battle and eventually tied the game at 59-59 on a three point play by Pinkston with 3:45 left on the clock.

Four straight points by AUM briefly put the Warhawks back in the driver's seat 63-59 until a 6-0 run by Belhaven resulted in a 65-63 edge with 16 seconds left. Rogers filled up a clutch three pointer from the left wing giving Belhaven its first lead since the opening minute. On the ensuing Warhawk possession, Chris Bell got the free throw line with six seconds left and connected on 1 of 2 at the stripe.

AUM then fouled junior Chris Cofield who also converted 1 of 2. Bell ended up rebounding the Colfield miss and started the final push up the floor leading to the game winning shot. Davis got the ball and heaved it with two hands toward the goal with time winding down. Davis found the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded giving the Warhawks a 67-66 decision.

Butts had 26 points to lead all scorers in the game, going 7 of 13 from the field and 9 of 12 at the free throw line. Rogers matched his season high with 12 points followed by Pinkston with nine points, four assists, and three steals. Junior Curt Hall led the Blazers on the boards with five rebounds and added seven points.

As a team, Belhaven shot at a 42% percent clip from the field (21-50), went 9 of 23 from three point range (39.1%), and were 15 of 20 from the free throw line (75%). The Blazers were out-rebounded 45-21.

Davis notched a team high 20 points for Auburn-Montgomery, including the game winning three. Brett Person chipped in 12 points trailed by Bell with 10 points and a game high 12 rebounds. LaRel Jackson dished out a game high eight assists and came up with three steals. The Warhawks cashed in on 45.2% of their attempts from the field (28-62)

Belhaven will be back in action on Thursday night when the team travels to Hattiesburg, MS to battle SSAC rival William Carey University. The tip-off is slated for 7:30 PM.