JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven Blazers Men's Basketball team dropped its home opener Monday night to No. 13 Xavier University of Louisiana, falling 78-55.
 
For the second time in as many games, the Blazers (0-2) played Xavier (3-0) and just like the first game, Belhaven got off to a quick start, opening up an 8-2 lead with three pointers from Jordan Bedford and Jerrial Dawson, along with a basket from Will Sheriff.
 
However, the Gold Rush answered back with a 10-0 run to take a lead that it never relinquished.
 
Belhaven held Xavier to 44.1 percent shooting on the night, down nearly 10 points from the first game, and the Blazers were 40.9 percent from beyond the arch.
 
The Blazers struggles on the night came on the offensive glass and at the free throw line. Belhaven had just four offensive rebounds to Xavier's 11 and the Green and Gold shot 41.7 percent from the free throw line, going 10 of 24 while Xavier made 22 of 27 attempts.
 
On the glass, Belhaven was outrebounded 36-26 and Xavier scored 14 second chance points while the Blazers had just three.
 
For the second time this season, Bedford led all players in scoring, finishing with 18 on the night in 29 minutes. Bedford made five three pointers in the game and finished with two rebounds and an assist.
 
Bedford was the only Blazer in double digits on the night, but Dawson and Sheriff each finished with nine points in the game. Sheriff added four rebounds and also had an assist and a steal. Dawson, who logged the most minutes for Belhaven on the night with 31, finished with two assists, a rebound and a steal.
 
Dycus Juste and Jonathan Durham each came off the bench for the Blazers and added seven points. Durham made back-to-back three-point shots in the second half. Juste was the only Blazer to shoot above 50 percent from the free throw line in the game, going 3-of-4.
 
Delah Mayers was held scoreless on the night, but did lead the team with six boards.
 
Belhaven also struggled with ball security throughout the night, finishing with 19 turnovers on just eight Xavier steals. The Blazers were only able to finish with three steals and force 10 total turnovers by the Gold Rush.
 
The Blazers will look to rebound on Thursday when they host LSU-Shreveport for a 7 p.m. tip at Rugg Arena.