Box Score
JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven men's basketball team gave a strong effort on Thursday night against 16th ranked Faulkner University, but in the end the Eagles soared out of Rugg Arena with a 74-66 Southern States Athletic Conference win. The Blazers were able to create some scoring opportunities from their defense thanks to 20 Faulkner turnovers. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough firepower to keep pace with the Eagles.

Needing a win to get back on track and stop a four game losing skid, Belhaven was honed in early in the first half. It was a promising start for Belhaven (9-15, 5-7 SSAC), who shot out of the gate with the games first six points. Junior Chris Cofield fired in the first bucket 27 seconds into the contest followed by a field goal from senior Jordan Butts. Junior Luke Rogers capped the opening run on a junper with 17:29 on the clock to make it 6-0.

Faulkner (20-3, 11-1 SSAC) didn't find the points column until Anthony Johnson converted a free throw with 16:32 to play until the break. The free throw would be the first point in a string of nine for the Eagles that gave them a momentary 9-7 edge with 12:36 until halftime. For the rest of the half, the scales went back and forth as both teams took turns with the lead. The first half saw seven separate lead changes and four instances where the score was tied.

The Blazers managed to pull ahead 22-20 on two free throws by Cofield with 4:40 to play until halftime. The first half was characterized by solid defense for both clubs. Belhaven knew points could be hard to come by against the Eagles, who were ranked seventh in the NAIA limiting opponents to 61 points per game.

Faulkner picked up the momentum late in the first half and then early in the second to get a foothold in the game. The Eagles closed the opening stanza with an 8-3 run that secured a 28-25 halftime lead. The trend continued for the first seven minutes of the second half that saw the Eagles build a 41-30 advantage. Ayo Madamidola gave Faulkner its first double digit edge on a layup after he hit a triple on the previous possession.

The Blazers battled back to a four point deficit at 54-50 with just over five minutes to go following a free throw by sophomore Datodrick Pinkston. Faulkner then countered with a 10-0 run that essentially sealed the outcome with only 1:42 to play. Belhaven kept fighting until the end, but it was too little too late.

Cofield led the Blazers with a game high 21 points and six assists. He was 9 for 12 at the free throw line and 6 for 14 from the field in 36 minutes on the floor. Pinkston followed with 12 points and sophomore Jerrial Dawson chipped in 11 points off the bench. Pinkston and junior Curt Hall shared the team lead in the rebounding department with five boards each. As a team, Belhaven finished the night 23 of 49 from the field (46.9%) and struggled at the free throw line converting only 50% of their total attempts (15 for 30).

Faulkner had four players reach double figures in scoring led by Lante Phillips with 15 points. Maurice Whitely had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench followed by Jake Mitchell with 11 points and Cyrille Sandjon with 10 points. The Eagles owned a sizable rebounding advantage at 47-25 and their depth proved to be a key in the game with the bench outscoring Belhaven's reserves 26-15. Faulkner knocked down 43.3% of its field goals (26 for 60).

Belhaven will hit the road again on Saturday as the team heads to Mobile, Alabama to take on Spring Hill College starting at 4:00 PM.