JACKSON, Miss. – Belhaven Men's Basketball picked up a crucial victory in Southern States Athletic Conference play Thursday night, defeating Loyola University 81-71.
 
The Blazers used the three pointer and a big second half to pull away from the Wolfpack and pull to within a game of the postseason slots for the SSAC Tournament coming at the end of the month.
 
Jordan Bedford led the way for the Blazers, who had five players in double figures and connected on nine three pointers, shooting 47 percent from behind the arc.
 
Bedford, who was recognized prior to the game for reaching the 1000-point mark on the Blazers recent road trip, collected 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including three from long range. Bedford moved into 10^th place all time on the scoring list with his points in the game.
 
Three other starters reached double figures in the contest. De'la Mayers finished with 17 points for the Green and Gold and also finished with one of three Belhaven blocks on the night. Mayers finished with 13 points in the second half, helping the Blazers to pull away.
 
Josh Carpenter, 12, and Datodrick Pinkston, 11, were the other starters in double figures for Belhaven.
 
Coming off the bench, Dycus Juste scored nine second half points to go with three more in the first half, finishing the game with 12. Juste tied Bedford for the most three pointers in the game, connecting on three of his four attempts from behind the arc.
 
Belhaven struggled early and found itself trailing for most of the first half, before a late run saw the game go into the break tied. A large part of the deficit came from second chance opportunities.
 
At one point in the first half, Belhaven was being outrebounded 18-9, allowing nine offensive boards by Loyola that resulted in 12-second chance points.
 
However, the Blazers were able to fight back on the boards, which sparked the late run and finished the game being outrebounded by just one, 35-34.
 
Belhaven trailed by 8 points with 3:35 remaining in the first half, but a 16-8 run helped the Blazers cover the gap and head into the break tied up at 36. Bedford sealed the half with the Blazers fourth straight three pointer to tie the game.
 
The Blazers pulled away from Loyola early on in the second half after trading a couple baskets to open up the second 20-minute period. Belhaven was able to maintain at least a five-point advantage for the majority of the second half before adding a little more insurance late in the contest.
 
The Green and Gold finished the game shooting 55 percent from the field, while the Blazers defense held Loyola to just 43 percent shooting on the night. Belhaven also held Loyola to just 25 percent shooting from three-point range.
 
Belhaven will now take a week off before traveling to Auburn-Montgomery next Thursday.