ATLANTA, Ga. – The Belhaven Men's Basketball team came up short in an upset bid of No. 18 Emory University Tuesday night in the season opener for the Blazers, falling 65-72.
 
The Blazers (0-1) matched Emory (3-0) for much of the night, answering runs by the Eagles with runs of their own. However, Belhaven fell behind midway through the second half and were unable to complete a comeback against the NCAA Division III power.
 
Despite the loss, the Blazers played Emory to their closest game of the season.
 
After 20 minutes, the Blazers were tied with the Eagles at 33, but the hosts, coming off a Sweet 16 season in 2014-15, used a strong run in the middle of the second half to go up by as much as 16.
 
Belhaven answered back with a 13-4 run over the final minutes, cutting the deficit down to seven points, but ran out of time in the comeback effort.
 
Josh Carpenter led the Blazers with 19 points in the game, a career high for the senior. Carpenter was 9-of-14 from the field, including a three pointer. He also had four rebounds and two assists in the game.
 
Josh Gaskin picked up his second career double-double with a near career high in points, finishing with 18. Gaskin was nearly perfect from the floor, going 9-of-10 from the field. The senior also finished with 10 rebounds in the game.
 
De'la Mayers was third for the Blazers in scoring, hitting double figures with 10 points, while also bringing down seven rebounds off the bench.
 
DaJuan Young also had a big night. The junior scored a career-high eight points, including back-to-back three pointers in the first half that sparked a Belhaven run to erase a 9-point Emory lead.
 
Four Blazers picked up points in their debuts on Tuesday, with LaDarrius Drain's four points leading the way for the newcomers. Jeremy Reddy (3), David Simpson (2) and Jack Griffiths (1) also scored for Belhaven.
 
Fred Douglas and Cornelius Mitchell also made their debuts on Tuesday. Douglas had a pair of rebounds and Mitchell had a block and an assist.
 
The Blazers will be off until next Tuesday, when they travel up Riverside Drive to take on Millsaps College at the Hanger Dome. The tip is set for 7:30 p.m.