Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Playing for a spot in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament, the Belhaven men's basketball team gave 21st ranked Faulkner University all it could handle on Saturday in the final game of the regular season. However, the Eagles withstood the charge and prevailed on their home floor 69-63. The loss by Belhaven and the University of Mobile's 60-57 win at Spring Hill kept the Blazers from advancing to the postseason. Belhaven and Mobile tied for fifth in the West Division standings at 8-10, but by virtue of a tiebreaker the Rams grab the final spot in the tournament field.

Faulkner (25-5, 15-3 SSAC) established an early lead with a 9-3 run to start the ballgame. Belhaven junior Chris Cofield scored the first bucket of the game, drilling a triple with 18:28 on the first half clock. The Blazers then went cold for the next four minutes as the Eagles reeled off the next nine points. Maurice Whitely started the run and Jake Mitchell closed it on a three pointer with 14:22 to play until the half.

Faulkner led by eight points on two separate occasions with the first occurring at the 8:28 juncture of the first half. Jamarious Anderson fired in a three pointer to make it a 20-12 advantage and then with 5:58 to go in the half, the Eagles led 28-20 following a layup by Di'mar Hill.

Belhaven (12-18, 8-10 SSAC) then started the comeback and eventually pulled even with just under two minutes on the clock. Junior Curt Hall knotted the game at 34-34 on a fast break bucket which was setup by an assist by sophomore Datodrick Pinkston. Pinkston then gave the Bazers a brief 36-34 lead with a basket of his own, but Lante Phillips tied the game with eight seconds on clock sending the teams to the locker tied 36-36 at the break.

In the second half, the teams were neck and neck and traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the final period. Before it was all said and done, 11 lead changes and four ties were recorded in the second half, including a total of 13 lead changes and six ties in the game.

With 9:59 to play, Belhaven went in front 51-50 on another triple by Cofield but the Eagles struck back with a 6-0 run to go up 56-51. The Blazers countered with a basket by Pinkston and a three from junior Luke Rogers to tie the game for the sixth time on the night at 56-56.

Unfortunately, the Blazers couldn't keep the momentum going as Alderson sent Faulkner in front for good with 6:17 to play. Alderson hit his second triple of the game to make it a 59-56 contest. Belhaven stayed in striking distance until the end, but Terrance Glass hit four crucial free throws in the final 20 seconds to take home the victory.

Pinkston had a season and career high 20 points off the bench to lead the Belhaven offense. Cofield ended the afternoon with 17 points followed by Hall with 11. Pinkston was Belhaven's leading rebounder with six boards against the Eagles. Rogers was a force on defense with four steals to go along with his five points.

As a team, the Blazers were 25 of 60 from the field (41.7%) and 5 of 21 from three point range (23.8%). The stat that stands out the most was rebounding with the Eagles owning a commanding 33-17 advantage on the glass.

Jake Mitchell had 14 points and six assists while Glass ended the night with 10 points for Faulkner. Whitely posted seven points and a team high eight rebounds. The Eagles seemed to make every shot they put up, hitting on 57.4% of their field goals (27-47).

The Blazers will now turn their attention to the offseason as they prepare for the 2013-14 season.