Box Score NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Belhaven men's basketball team rallied from a 14 point halftime deficit at Dillard Monday night, but came up two points shy in a 65-63 non-conference loss on the road. The Blazers had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds, but a layup attempt and tip-back hit the side of the rim on the final possession as the Blazers continue to search for their first win.

"We had a slow start in the first half and trailed by double digits at the outset and couldn't really get going offensively," said Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken. "We played much better in the second half, getting stops defensively and offensively we hit our stride. I'm proud of the guys for battling back, but we have to find a way to get better and put together a full 40 minutes."

Dillard (1-0) exploded out the gate to start the game on an 11-0 run and the Blazers were on their heels from that point on. Belhaven (0-2) climbed back to within four at 21-17 thanks to a field goal from Dee Franklin at the 7:08 mark. The Bleu Devils then proceeded to close the half on a 12-2 run to take a 33-19 lead into the locker room.

Belhaven got back on track and cut the gap to seven at 37-30 2:30 minutes into the second half. The Blazers stayed within single digits the rest of the night, but were unable to find a basket to put them over the top and into the lead.

Chris Cofield made it a 46-45 game with 8:13 left on a fast break bucket. Cofield took the ball away from Houston Chatman and raced to the other end of the floor for an easy two. Unfortunately, Dillard answered on a Chatman jumper to keep the Blazers at bay.

The Bleu Devils built the lead back to nine points at 63-54 with just over two minutes to play before Belhaven stormed back to make it a game again. The Blazers used their pressure defense to ignite the offense, getting quick points in transition to rally to within one at 64-63.

Dillard's Jeremy Rixner left the door open by missing one of two at the free throw line and Cofield grabbed the rebound to setup Belhaven's last possession. Out of the timeout, Cofield drove the lane and found Jonathan Ratliff in the low post for a layup attempt. His shot was slightly off target and a tip-back by Deon Bedford was just off the mark as well. The Bleu Devils secured the rebound and the victory.

Belhaven was led by Cofield who finished the night with a game high 14 points followed by Datodrick Pinkston and Ratliff with 12 points apiece. Ratliff paced the Blazers in rebounds with eight. Belhaven scored 19 points off turnovers, but it wasn't enough to overcome a tough night at the free throw line. The Blazers were just 13 of 28 at the charity stripe.

Chatman led the Bleu Devils with 14 points and Tyrone Williams poured in 12 points to pace the attack. Chatman was also active on the boards with eight rebounds. As a team, Dillard outrebounded Belhaven 43-37.

Belhaven will look to get on track Tuesday when the team plays its home opener against Tougaloo College in Rugg Arena at 7:30 PM.

"We have to find a way to jump out early and play with the lead," Aiken said. "We have a lot of talented players on this team and we have to find that cohesiveness as a group. We have taken some bumps in the road and unfortunately they have ended in losses, but we are growing and need to find a way to get a win Tuesday night."