Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven men's basketball team had one slip away on Saturday, falling to Bethel University (TN) in a Southern States Athletic Conference showdown 79-75. The Blazers held a six point lead at halftime, but the Wildcats clawed back with some big plays in the second period to leave Rugg Arena with a victory.

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"I thought our guys played very well in the first half, especially on the defensive end," said Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken. "We weren't able to sustain the same level of defensive execution in the second half and they (Bethel) made some big plays down the stretch. They played like a desperate team in the second half and I didn't think we met their intensity."

Belhaven (11-11, 9-5 SSAC) trailed 9-5 in the first seven minutes, but promptly turned things around. The Blazers went on a 7-0 run and grabbed the advantage for the remainder of the half.

Datodrick Pinkston made it a 12-9 contest on a jumper with 10:35 left in the period and then with 6:18 left before the break, Chris Cofield gave the Blazers what would be their largest lead of the night. Cofield drove to the basket on consecutive possessions, sinking layups on both attempts to push the lead to 22-14. Belhaven eventually took a 35-29 edge into the locker room at halftime.

Bethel (17-7, 8-5 SSAC) came out in the second half with renewed energy and were back in the game within a matter of minutes. The Wildcats pulled back in front on a 10-2 run out of the gate, culminating on a triple by Mark Vaughn with 18:04 to go. Bethel would build the lead to nine at 57-48 midway through the period before withstanding a late Belhaven charge.

The Blazers scored the next eight points to close the gap to 57-56 following a layup from Deon Bedford. Bethel went up by six again before another 7-0 scoring burst by the Blazers sent them into the lead again momentarily. Jerrial Dawson's triple with 4:40 on the clock gave the Blazers hope with 65-64 lead.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't stay in front for long. Two possessions later the Wildcats had the lead back at 66-65 on a layup from Gary Pollard and would never relinquish it. Belhaven stayed within two possessions for the remaining 3:30 minutes, but couldn't muster key shots or stops at the right time to make a comeback.

Cofield matched a season high with 19 points to lead the Belhaven offense Saturday afternoon. Cofield has reached that plateau on two other occasions this season. Cofield finished the contest 7 of 13 from the field and also dished out a team high three assists. Three other Blazers posted double figure point totals with Deon Bedford and Jonathan Ratliff recording 14 each followed by Pinkston with 11. Ratliff ended the day with a team best six rebounds and Bedford had five blocked shots.

As a team, Belhaven shot 48.1% from the field (25-52), 36.4% from three point range (4-11), and 65.6% from the foul line. The Blazers were at a disadvantage on the glass as Bethel controlled the paint with a 43-27 rebounding edge. The Wildcats had 17 on the offensive end leading to 20 second chance points.

Five Wildcats fired in 13 points or more during the contest. Pollard led the pack with 20 followed by Walt Andrews with 15. Vaughn chipped in 14 points, Marcus Bowins added 13, and Cole Nelson rounded out the group with 12. Andrews ended the day with a double double thanks to 14 rebounds and Nelson dished out a game high eight assists. Bethel shot at a 45.3% clip from the field as a team (29-64).

Belhaven will hit the court again on Thursday night when the team hosts Spring Hill College at 7:30 PM in Rugg Arena. The Blazers are hoping to avenge a 100-88 loss to the Badgers earlier in the season.