Box Score MARIETTA, Ga. – After building a 19 point first half lead, the Belhaven men's basketball team held on for a thrilling 102-93 Southern States Athletic Conference victory in overtime Saturday afternoon at Southern Polytechnic State University. The Blazers head back to Jackson with a pair of key conference wins after this weekend's two game road swing.

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"This was another great effort by our team as our guys battled and showed a lot of heart overcoming adversity," said Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken. "I'm really proud of how we responded in overtime after Southern Poly rallied to tie the game. This was a complete team effort and it's always good to win games on the road, especially within the SSAC."

Belhaven (6-7, 5-1 SSAC) erupted early grabbing the lead at 5-4 just over a minute into the game on a field goal by Curt Hall. The Blazers took off from there and built a 30-11 advantage thanks to a jumper by Deon Bedford with 9:06 to play in the first half. It appeared that Belhaven would cruise from there, but Southern Poly (5-11, 1-5 SSAC) had different plans on their home floor. The Hornets were able to chop the deficit to 10 points at 41-31 just before the halftime buzzer on a triple from Evyn Smith.

Belhaven kept Southern Poly at arm's length for the majority of the second half and led 68-54 with 7:30 to play following a pair of free throws by Jonathan Ratliff. The Blazers once again looked to be in control when Datodrick Pinkston dialed up a triple with 3:32 remaining on the clock.

Trailing 75-63 at that point, the Hornets mounted a furious comeback and outscored Belhaven 18-6 down the stretch to force overtime. Chris Key drilled a three pointer with 16 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the score at 81 apiece. A last second field goal attempt by Pinkston was off the mark, sending the game into an extra frame.

Despite being knocked back on their heels, the Blazers regrouped in overtime and led from start to finish. Belhaven opened the period with a 6-0 run, with four of the points coming from Ratliff. The Blazers sealed the win with 30 seconds left on a free throw by Jordan Bedford that put them up by 10 points at 98-88.

Belhaven boasted another balanced attack on offense with five players reaching double figures in scoring. Jordan Bedford led the charge with 25 points followed by Pinkston with 18. Ratliff recorded a double double on the strength of 16 points and a game high 11 rebounds. Dycus Juste had his best game as a Blazer with 13 points and Hall rounded out the double digit scorers with 10. Chris Cofield ended the afternoon with a team best five assists.

The Blazers hit a season high 59.6 percent of their field goals (34-57), eclipsing the previous season high of 57.7 percent set on Friday night at Southern Wesleyan. Belhaven also had its best performance of the year from behind the three point arc, drilling 11 of 19 (57.9%) from downtown on Saturday. To cap things off, Belhaven converted 82.1 percent of their free throw opportunities (23-28).

On the opposite side of the box score, Southern Poly had three players score 21 points or more Saturday afternoon. The Hornets were paced by Chris Key with 29 points and 10 rebounds followed by CJ McElrath and Marcus Dortch with 24 and 21 respectively. McElrath had a game best six assists to go along with his point total.

As a team, Southern Poly went 33 of 70 from the field (47.1%), 12 of 24 from three point range (50%), and 15 of 21 at the charity stripe (71.4%). The Hornets were out-rebounded by their guests 35-30.

Belhaven returns home on Tuesday night for a non-conference showdown with Dillard University in Rugg Arena. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

"We have a big week ahead with three games, including two at home, starting Tuesday night," added Aiken. "I'm excited to keep building on the momentum we generated this weekend."