Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven men's basketball team gutted out a 59-51 Southern States Athletic Conference victory over Loyola University (LA) Thursday night in Rugg Arena. The Blazers, who are receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, had and 18 point lead evaporate to four late in the game, but held on for the win to remain tied for second place in the SSAC West Division.

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"I was proud of all of our seniors tonight and the effort they put forth," Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken said. "They have taken ownership of this team the second half of this year and give you a lot of confidence going into a game as a coach. Loyola fought back to make it interesting late, but we were able to pull it out at the end."

Belhaven (15-13, 13-6 SSAC) built a double digit lead midway through the first half and appeared to have command of the game. Senior Jonathan Ratliff knocked down a layup after a strong drive to the basket, giving the Blazers a 19-9 advantage. Belhaven went up by as many as 16 in the first after senior Deon Beford tipped in his own miss to make it 28-12 with just under six minutes to go until the break.

Loyola (6-20, 5-14 SSAC) erased seven points off the deficit with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to pull back within nine at 30-21 following a McCall Tomeny bucket. Belhaven grabbed some of the momentum back on the final bucket of the half. Senior Chris Cofield got the break going on the defense with a blocked shot and rebound setting up senior Curt Hall for a layup on the offensive end of the floor.

Belhaven then turned a 32-21 halftime lead into an 18 point cushion with 11:09 remaining in the contest. Ratliff got to the paint again and converted a layup to make it a 49-31 game.

With their backs against the wall, the Wolfpack battled back to make it a game late thanks to an 11-2 run over the next four minutes. Manuel Gandara brought the Wolfpack to within single digits for the first time since the first half on a layup with 7:14 to go. Trailing 51-42, Loyola continued to chip away, making things a little too close for comfort with under a minute left. Jared Townsend made good on a layup with 50 seconds on the clock, trimming Belhaven's lead all the way down to four points at 55-51.

However, the Blazers defense tightened down and the offense came back to life, scoring the final four points to secure the win. Deon Bedford came down with a big offensive rebound off a missed three throw and turned it in to two points on a layup. Then with 25 seconds left, junior Jordan Bedford iced things away at the charity stripe with a pair of free throws.

Deon Bedford ended the night with a game high 19 points for Belhaven. He added six rebounds and blocked four Loyola shots. Ratliff just missed a double double with 12 points and nine rebounds while Cofield picked up eight points nine rebounds and five assists. Hall chipped in seven points, four assists, and three rebounds.

The Blazers struggled offensively Thursday night, but the defense found a way to limit the Wolfpack's offense as well. Belhaven was 24 of 57 from the field (42.1%), but Loyola managed to make only 31.7% of their field goals (19-60). The Wolfpack had a slight edge in rebounding (41-39), but it wasn't enough to overcome a tough Blazer defense.

Tomeny led the Wolfpack with 14 points followed by Daniel Kuhl with 13 points. Kuhl and teammate Cameron Hill each posted a team high five rebounds.

Belhaven will wrap up the regular season on Saturday at Martin Methodist College. The Blazers lost to the Redhawks at home 73-59 on January 16th. The two teams will be battling for second place in the SSAC West Division when they put the ball in the air at 4:00 PM.

"Saturday's game is going to be a lot like tonight with low scoring and tough defense," Aiken added. "We are going to have share and move the ball better than we did tonight. Martin Methodist is a tough team and we are going to have to be ready to play."