Box Score MCKENZIE, Tenn. - The Belhaven men's basketball team rallied for a 90-88 Southern States Athletic Conference victory Thursday night at Bethel University (TN). Jordan Bedford scored two of his career high 37 points in the final seconds for the game winner that snapped a two game losing skid in league play. The Blazers improve to 8-9 overall and 6-3 in the SSAC.

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"I'm unbelievably proud of our guys and I told them that we had to refuse to lose down the stretch and they came through for the win," said Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken. "Chris Cofield made the team run in the second half and Jordan Bedford had one of the better games I've seen a player have offensively. Deon Bedford also played great, turning in his best game as a Blazer. In the end, this was a great team effort and a huge victory for us in conference play."

Bethel (12-7, 3-5 SSAC) cruised out to a 41-26 lead with just under four minutes to play in the first half and appeared to have things under control. However, Belhaven had other plans and outscored the Wildcats 16-6 during the final stretch of the opening period. Bedford sunk two free throws just before the break to bring the Blazers to within five points at 47-42 at the intermission.

Belhaven remained within striking distance for the majority of the second half, but couldn't generate enough firepower to take the lead until late in the game. Bethel boosted the advantage to as many as 11 points in the final period, but the cushion wasn't enough to prevent a Blazers rally.

Trailing 85-77 with 3:04 on the clock, Belhaven once again owned the final minutes of a half with a 13-3 run to secure the win. Bedford carried the team on his shoulders offensively by drilling the game tying and game clinching shots. Bedford fired in a triple with 22 seconds left to even the score at 88-88 and then following a turnover by Bethel's Walt Andrews, connected on the game winner with just a few ticks on the clock.

Bedford was 13 of 19 from the field and 6 of 10 from three point range in Thursdays' win. Joining Bedford in double figures was Deon Bedford who poured in 19 points off the bench and led the Blazers with eight rebounds. Chris Cofield chipped in with four points, but setup his teammates with other scoring opportunities thanks to eight assists.

As a team, the Blazers hit 52.3% of their field goals (34-65) and were nearly unstoppable in the second half. In the final frame, Belhaven made good on 19 of 33 shots from the floor (57.6%). After struggling the last two games from three point land, Belhaven's accuracy from downtown returned on Thursday night. The Blazers hit 45 percent of their triples (9-20) while converting 13 of 21 free throw attempts (61.9%). Belhaven out-rebounded Bethel 38-34.

Bethel was paced by Gary Pollard with 24 points followed by Walt Andrews with 15 points, Justin Williamson had 14 points, and Mark Vaugh chipped in 11. Cole Nelson produced nine points and dished out a game high 11 assists. The Wildcats were 32 of 69 from the field (46.4%), made 11 of 18 three point shots (61.1%), and finished the night 13 of 18 at the free throw line (72.2%).

Belhaven will be back in action at home on Saturday when the team hosts Blue Mountain College at 4:00 PM in Rugg Arena.

"We need to carry this momentum into Saturday for another big SSAC game at home against Blue Mountain," added Aiken.