KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Belhaven men's basketball team will open the 2014 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championships against Columbia College (MO) on Thursday at 8:00 PM in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Blazers, who received an automatic bid by winning the third place game at the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships, will make their fourth appearance in the tournament.

(Game Notes)
Belhaven owns an overall record of 18-14 and are unseeded in this year's tournament field. Belhaven is making its fifth overall appearance in an NAIA National Championship tournament and fourth at the Division I level. The Blazers went to the Division II national tournament in 2001, with previous visits to the Division I field in 1972, 2010, and 2012. Belhaven's overall record in Division I national tournament games is 1-3. The Blazers are searching for their first tournament victory since 1972 as Belhaven went 0-1 in both 2010 and 2012.

The Blazers hit their stride in the second half of the season going 14-7 in their last 21 games following a 4-7 start to the year. Belhaven won the final two games of the regular season against Loyola University (NO) 59-51 and Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 67-64 to clinch the number two seed in the SSAC West Division. Those two victories also gave the team 14 conference wins, the most conference victories for a single season in program history.

In the SSAC Championships, the Blazers topped Southern Wesleyan in the quarterfinals 79-73 and narrowly lost to 7th ranked Emmanuel in the semifinals 76-72. The next day, Belhaven bounced back with a convincing 74-57 over Martin Methodist in the third place game. The Blazers powered to the win on the strength a 24-0 run in the second half.

Belhaven is led by All-Conference guard Jordan Bedford, who enters the tournament with a team high 15.3 points per game scoring average. Bedford, a junior from Covington, Louisiana, has drilled 70 triples and 170 total field goals, both team highs.

The Blazers have two other players averaging double figures coming into the opening round. Deon Bedford, a senior forward from Maben, Mississippi, posts an average of 11.4 points per contest. He is second on the team in total field goals (148) and leads the Blazers in blocked shots (42), ranking him 20th in NAIA Division I basketball.

Senior Chris Cofield, who was a part of the 2012 national tournament team, played very well in the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships. Cofield, a guard from Omaha, Nebraska, was named to the All-Tournament Team after making over 55% of his shots from the field in the three games. Cofield averages 10.7 points per game and leads the Blazers in assists (123) and steals (48).

Senior Jonathan Ratliff anchors the post for Belhaven and also had a strong showing in the SSAC tournament. Ratliff, a forward from Yazoo, Mississippi, helped get Belhaven to Kansas City with 18 points and 14 rebounds in the third place game against Martin Methodist. Ratliff enters the national tournament averaging 9.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Belhaven's sixth man this season has been junior Datodrick Pinkston who averages 9.8 points per night. Pinkston, a guard from Forest, Mississippi, provides a spark off the bench with his ability to get to the basket and cause havoc on defense. Pinkston is shooting 51.6% from the field and has 95 field goals in 2013-14.

As a team, the Blazers are averaging 74.7 points per game while surrendering 72.2 points per outing. Belhaven is 19th in the NAIA in total steals (268) and 27th in steals per game (8.4). Their defense is 32nd best in NAIA Division I basketball.

Columbia College (Mo) is making its 18th appearance at the NAIA National Championships and garnered the number four seed in this year's field. The Cougars are ranked 4th in the Final NAIA Top 25 poll and own an overall record of 31-2 for Head Coach Bob Burchard who is in his 25th season. Columbia is a member of the American Midwest Conference, where they have won four consecutive regular season conference championships. The Cougars received an automatic bid to this year's national tournament as the regular season conference championship. Columbia holds a record of 10-17 in national tournament games and is looking for the programs first title in 2014. Columbia made it to the quarterfinals of the NAIA tournament a season ago.

Columbia has three players averaging double figures coming into the first round matchup with Belhaven. Devin Griffin leads the way at 16.2 points per game followed by Derrick Dilworth and Jeremy Nola with 13 and 10.1 points per game respectively. Patric Massey is averaging 9.8 points per contest, is Columbia's best rebounder at six rebounds per night, and comes into the tournament 8th in the NAIA in blocked shots with 54.

As a team, Columbia is outscoring opponents by almost 18 points per game, fourth best in NAIA Division I. The Cougars average 82.4 points per game and have held opponents to 64.5 points through 33 games this season. Columbia leads the NAIA in total blocks (164) and takes very good care of the basketball as evidenced by an assist/turnover ratio of 1.5, second best in the country. The Cougars also boast a top ten ranking in field goal percentage, ranked 8th in the NAIA at 49.7%.

The winner of Thursday night's game will advance to the round of 16 and face either LSU-Shreveport or Mid-America Nazarene University at 8:00 PM Friday night.