Box Score
JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven men's basketball team found itself pitted against a top 25 team for the second time in as many games Friday night when third ranked Lee University came calling in Rugg Arena. The Blazers stayed on Lee's heels for the most of the game until the Flames pulled away late in the second half to claim a 77-62 Southern States Athletic Conference victory. Belhaven opened the week on Monday by falling to 16th ranked Xavier University (LA) 73-63.

Lee (13-0, 5-0 SSAC) struck first on a layup by Chad Lee to make it a 2-0 lead at the 18:34 mark of the first half. Senior Jordan Butts tied the score at 2-2 for Belhaven (6-10, 3-2 SSAC) on a pair of free throws with 17:40 on the clock. A triple by Jamorris Gaines vaulted the Flames back in front until a 5-1 run by the Blazers resulted in their first lead of the night. An old fashion three point play by Datodrick Pinkston made it a 9-8 game with 14:33 to play until the break.

The lead changed hands twice before Lee eventually established a 24-18 advantage following a Corey Billingsley free throw with 7:55 to play in the half. However, Belhaven was determined to keep the game close and responded with its biggest scoring run of the night. The 7-0 spurt was capped on a dunk by Curt Hall, granting the Blazers a 25-24 edge with 4:48 left until halftime. The Flames were forced to call a 30 second time out and managed to regroup during the brief stoppage of play. Lee regained the foothold and outscored Belhaven 13-5 the rest of the half to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room.

Within the first five minutes of the final period, Lee had established its largest lead of the night at 47-36 on a triple by Lee. The Blazers were able to able to get back to within five points on three separate occasions in the second half. Belhaven made it a game on two free throws by Jerrial Dawson with 7:18 to go. The freebies at the charity stripe cut the deficit to 59-54 with plenty of time left. Unfortunately, the final minutes belonged to the Flames who began to pull away with an 8-0 run resulting in a 65-54 lead with 6:04 to go in the second half. The Blazers didn't threaten again in the final moments as Lee secured the 77-62 win.

Belhaven had four players reach double digits with Butts, Pinkston, and Hall each scoring 15 points to lead the way. Jonathan Ratliff chipped in 11 points and posted seven rebounds. Butts paced the Blazers on the glass with eight boards against Lee. Overall, the Flames owned the paint with a 49-35 rebounding edge on Friday night.

The Blazers struggled to find their mark from the field, especially from behind the arc. Belhaven went just 1 of 15 from downtown (6.7%) and 21 of 61 from the field overall (34.4%). The Blazers were 19 of 30 from the free throw line (63.3%) as both teams combined to shoot 65 free throws in the game thanks to 51 fouls.

Will Barnes led the charge for Lee with a game high 18 points and seven rebounds. Three other players joined Barnes in double figures with Duran Blue, Chase Dunn, and Gaines adding 14, 13, and 10 points respectively. The games leading rebounder was Lee who grabbed nine missed shots on the night. The Flames knocked down 24 of 53 shots from the field (45.3%) and were 22 of 35 from the free throw line (62.9%).

Belhaven will take the court again on Saturday at home against SSAC foe Brewton-Parker College beginning at 5:00 PM in Rugg Arena.