JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven men's basketball team was narrowly defeated by the Texas-Tyler Patriots Saturday afternoon inside Rugg Arena, falling 75-73. 

The Blazers led the Patriots for a good portion of the first half, largely due to a strong defensive effort that forced Texas-Tyler into 14 turnovers. On offense, the Blazers moved the ball well, assisting on eight of their 12 made field goals.

Junior forward Brandon Pressley scored seven of his team-high 18 points in the opening five minutes of play as the Blazers jumped out to a 9-5 lead. 

With 3:47 to play in the first half, the Patriots had taken a 27-24 lead, but junior guard Kyle Patterson converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it a tie game. Freshman guard Rick Hodum drilled a three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining to give Belhaven a 34-33 lead heading into the halftime break. 

The Blazers came out good energy to start the second half, scoring 15 points in the first five minutes to increase its lead to seven. Brent Webber, Gian Van Heeringen and Ron Davis each nailed a shot from behind the arc for the Green and Gold. 

Belhaven held onto its lead until the 11:36 mark of the half, when a 12-3 Texas-Tyler run gave the Patriots a 54-52 advantage. 

Another big run by the Patriots, eight points unanswered, put Belhaven in an eight-point hole, but the Blazers fought back, scoring seven of the game's next nine points to make the score 64-61 with 4:09 to play. 

Anthony Sanders made two three-pointers to give the Patriots their largest lead of the gamae at nine points with 2:18 remaining, and though the Blazers ended the game with a 10-3 run, it wasn't enough to come away with the victory.

Texas-Tyler committed 10 second-half turnovers for a game total of 24, the most turnovers Belhaven has forced an opponent into this season. The Blazers also held the Patriots to just 25% shooting from downtown, a season-low for a Blazers opponent. 

Pressley recorded his third consecutive double-double, adding 11 rebounds to his 18 points. Patterson had a strong performance off of the Blazers bench, pouring in 14 points and three boards in 22 minutes. 

Hodum continues to play well in an increased role, scoring a career-high 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting. Junior guard Jonathan Durhmam tied his season-high with six points, nailing two triples. 

Sanders tallied 17 points off the bench to lead the Patriots while Jordan Francis added 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals. 

Belhaven will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 26, traveling to Richardson, Texas to take on the University of Texas at Dallas at 7:30 p.m.

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