JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven Blazers fell to William Carey University Thursday night in a heartbreaker, losing 65-63 to the in-state rival in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
The loss snaps a three-game win streak for the Blazers.
Trailing by three points with the ball,
Jordan Bedford hit a huge three pointer out of a timeout to tie the game with 15 seconds remaining.
However, William Carey, coming out of its own timeout with nine seconds remaining, was able to answer with a put-back buzzer beater to sink the Blazers.
The latest installment of the rivalry was a game of runs by both teams.
Belhaven used a 19-3 run early on to go up by 32-18 on the Crusaders in the middle of the first half. It was one of four 14-point leads that the Blazers would have in the game.
But, William Carey would answer with a 15-0 run of its own, 13 of those points coming to close out the first half. At the break Belhaven held a 36-35 lead.
After Carey's two points to begin the second half, Belhaven responded with a 15-0 run of its own to regain a 14-point lead at 51-37.
The Crusaders would not go away though, as Belhaven allowed William Carey to respond with a 19-0 run to go up by five points, Belhaven's largest deficit of the game.
The Blazers were able to regain a two point lead with 3:28 remaining, but five points by the Crusaders over the next three minutes put Belhaven behind and Bedford's three was only good enough to tie the contest before Carey's winner.
Bedford led all scorers with 28 points in the game. He also tied for a team high five rebounds.
Jerrial Dawson and
Dycus Juste also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Juste also finished with five boards.
Josh Gaskin led the Blazers with four assists, three of which came on consecutive trips down the floor in Belhaven's second half run.
Josh Carpenter and Bedford led the Blazers with three steals apiece.
The Blazers will look to rebound Saturday at Mobile, as the Belhaven has just three games remaining before the SSAC Tournament.
