Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven men's basketball team claimed their first win of the 2013-14 season Tuesday night with a 80-79 decision against cross town rival Tougaloo College in Rugg Arena. The Blazers overcame a 13 point first half deficit to pull out the victory.

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"I thought we played well tonight and happy that we were able to pull through for the win," Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken said. "We had good balance with our offense and a lot of players were able to contribute. We figured out a way to finish the game strong to get our first victory of the season under our belt and I'm proud of the effort our guys gave tonight."

Tougaloo (0-5) got out to a quick start and within the first four minutes had established a 10-4 advantage. Cordaryl Campbell completed a three point play after being fouled in the act of shooting. The Bulldogs lead would eventually grow to 13 points with just under 10 minutes to play in the opening period. A triple by Denzel Hardy found the bottom of the net and created what would end up being Tougaloo's largest lead at 23-10.

The Blazers then began to climb back into contention one basket at a time during the next six minutes. Jonathan Ratliff brought Belhaven to within one point at 30-29 and then Chris Cofield cashed in on a traditional three point play to give the Blazers their first lead of the game at 32-30 with 2:56 to go in the opening half. Belhaven proceeded to take a two point lead into the locker room at the halftime 38-36.

The Blazers had a solid start to the second half and by the time the midway point of the final period rolled around they had a 13 point lead of their own. Jordan Bedford sunk a triple with 10:51 to play after Datodrick Pinkston set him up for the open look with a pinpoint pass on the perimeter.

Unfortunately, the lead would be short lived as Tougaloo stormed back in front on the strength of 17-3 run. A layup by Gary Love put the Bulldogs on top 72-70 with 4:15 showing on the second half clock. Tougaloo's advantage grew to 77-72 on a dunk by Campbell, but with 2:46 on the clock Belhaven still had a chance to make a run.

The Blazers did just that starting with a pair of free throws by Jordan Bedford. Bedford's two points ignited 6-0 run that resulted in a 78-77 edge. However, Tougaloo grabbed the lead again at 79-78 on free throws by Ramon Wesley with 1:16 to play, setting the stage for an exciting final minute of action.

Both teams came up empty on their next possessions with Tougaloo's ending on a blocked shot by Belhaven's Deon Bedford. The rejection started a fast break that culminated on a go ahead dunk by Curt Hall with 31 seconds left. Trailing 80-79, the Bulldogs had one more look at the basket, but a jump shot by Denzel Hardy hit the iron and into the hands of Pinkston for the game clinching rebound.

Belhaven had four players in double figures, led by Jordan Bedford with 13 points off the bench. Cofield and Ratliff followed with 12 points each and Pinkston rounded out the group with 10 points. Hall had a team high six rebounds and six points, two of them coming on the game winning dunk. Belhaven's bench outscored the Bulldogs reserves 37-5 and as a team Belhaven connected 28 of 58 field goal attempts (48.3%).

Wesley fired in a game high 24 points for Tougaloo followed by Gary Love with 18 points. Campbell and Hardy rounded out the double digit scorers with 16 and 13 points respectively. Love and Campbell each had 11 rebounds and Hardy ended the night with 10 assists. The Bulldogs drilled 51.7% of their field goals (30-58).

Belhaven will be back in action on Friday at Brewton-Parker for the first Southern States Athletic Conference showdown of the season. The tip-off is slated for 7:30 PM.