JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven Blazers picked up their first Southern States Athletic Conference victory Saturday night as Jerrial Dawson tied the school record for three-pointers in a game to lead the Blazers to a 77-60 victory over Middle Georgia State College.
 
Dawson matched his own record, which he set last season, by hitting seven of his 13 shots from behind the arc.
 
"A tremendous effort for Jerrial tonight," said head coach Jonathan Vines. "He came out and hit four or five really quick and credit goes out to the team for being able to get the ball to the hot hand."
 
Dawson's 21 points were second most in the game, behind only De'la Mayers' 22 for the Blazers (3-9, 1-2 SSAC).
 
Belhaven finished with four guys in double figures, as Jordan Bedford finished with 15 and Dycus Juste finished with 11.
 
Mayers picked up his SSAC-leading sixth double-double of the season, recording 11 rebounds in the contest.
 
The Blazers carried a 35-39 lead into the half and pulled away gradually in the second 20 minutes, outscoring the Knights (2-4, 1-2 SSAC) by 11 in the second half. Belhaven opened up as much as a 20-point lead in the second half.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys," said Vines. "We talked about putting two halves of great Blazers basketball together and we finally did it tonight."
 
"We finally turned a corner mentally tonight. We have been in a lot of these games physically down to the final minute, but we jumped a mental hurdle tonight with this young group."
 
Belhaven finished with 48 percent shooting (28-58) on the evening, despite going just 33 percent (8-24) from beyond the three-point line. Jordan Bedford had the only other three pointer for the Green and Gold in the game.
 
The Blazers capitalized on turnovers, outscoring MGSC 18-11 in points off turnovers in the game. Belhaven also had 11 offensive rebounds and converted them to 14-second chance points in the contest. The Blazers finished with 42 rebounds, edging out the Knights, who finished with 39.
 
The Belhaven defense held the Knights to just 37 percent shooting (25-68) from the field and 24 percent (6-25) from three-point range on the night.
 
Belhaven will return to action on Monday as the Blazers will travel to Rust College as part of a double header with the women. The men's game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip in Holly Springs, Miss.