Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Belhaven men's basketball team employed a relentless defense and owned the paint in a 79-73 victory over Southern Wesleyan University in the quarterfinals of the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships Thursday afternoon. The Blazers, who are receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, forced 20 Warrior turnovers and converted them into 18 points. In addition, Belhaven recorded 42 of 79 total points in the lane.

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"It was a great accomplishment for our team and I'm really proud of the effort from our guys," Belhaven Head Coach John Aiken said. "We have really been focusing in on our play on defense since January. I told the team that our offense starts when we get stops on defense and our players have really bought into that. Today our guys saw them struggling against our press and really went on the attack, turning their turnovers into points."

Belhaven (17-13) pulled in front early 7-3 on a quick triple by senior Deon Bedford followed by two point buckets from juniors Jordan Bedford and Chris Cofield. Southern Wesleyan (16-14) countered to take the lead at 10-7 with a 7-0 run that culminated on a bucket from Cameron Solomon. The Warriors used the momentum to extend the lead by three more points to 17-11 with 12:11 to go in the first half.

The Blazers stayed close and kept the game from getting out of control until the offense could catch fire again. Trailing 19-13, Belhaven engineered a 7-0 run of their own to regain the lead at 20-19 on a layup from junior Datodrick Pinkston. Pinkston posted all seven points in the scoring burst that arguably changed the complexion of the game.

Both teams then took turns with the lead until the Blazers claimed the advantage for good late in the first half. With just over two minutes on the clock and Southern Wesleyan maintaining a 29-27 edge, Belhaven's defense took over for the rest of the period. Jordan Bedford gave the Blazers the lead at 31-29 on four free throws and then three consecutive Warrior turnovers in the final 37 seconds led to an additional six points.

Senior Curt Hall threw down a dunk with 16 seconds go in the half and suddenly the Blazers had their largest lead of the night at 37-29. Solomon stifled some of the momentum with two free throws right before half, cutting the Belhaven lead to 37-31 at the break.

However, the late points by Southern Wesleyan didn't cool off the Blazers in the second period. Belhaven eventually extended the advantage to 50-40 on a triple from junior Jerrial Dawson at the 13:40 mark. The Blazers eventually went up 76-59 with just over three minutes to play and had to withstand a late charged by the Warriors. A three point basket by Kenney Holmes with four seconds remaining cut the contest to two possessions, but it was too little too late for the Warriors. The buzzer sounded shortly thereafter giving Belhaven the 79-73 win.

Four Blazers ended the afternoon with at least 11 points, led by Pinkston with a team high 20 on 8 of 12 shooting from the field. Jordan Bedford was close behind with 19 points while Cofield and Dawson chipped in 12 and 11 respectively. Ratliff grabbed a game high 11 rebounds to go along with five points in the victory.

As a team, the Blazers hit 49.2% of their field goals (29-59) and converted 62.1% of their shots from the charity stripe (18-29). Belhaven trailed Southern Wesleyan in total rebounds 39-32, but took better care of the basketball with only 15 turnovers.

Southern Wesleyan was guided by Solomon with a game high 29 points on 9 of 17 shooting from the floor. Kenny Holmes followed with 16 points and Mike Lieberman chipped in 10 points off the bench. Terrance Hutchins had seven points and a team best nine rebounds. As a team, the Warriors made good on 45.6% of their field goals (26-57) and converted 58.3% of their free throws (14-24).

Belhaven will now face top seeded Emmanuel from the East Division in the tournament semifinals on Friday afternoon. The Lions, ranked 6th in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, edged Bethel University (TN) 63-60 in their quarterfinal game on Thursday. Emmanuel has now won 20 straight games with their last loss coming at the hands of the Blazers 74-71 in Rugg Arena on November 23rd. The Lions boast a 28-2 with their only other loss occurring at William Carey 94-87.

Friday afternoon's tip-off is slated for 4:00 PM and fans can catch all the action on the Blazers Sports network by clicking here.

"It's going to be a great test for our team tomorrow," Aiken added. "I'm excited for the opportunity to play a great team, but also anxious about the challenge that awaits us. It's going to be a fun game to watch."