CLARKSVILLE, Ark. - The Belhaven men's basketball team made a season-high 14 three-pointers and outscored the University of the Ozarks 53-40 in the second half, en route to a 96-90 victory over the Eagles Saturday afternoon in Clarksville, Ark.
The Blazers (3-16) finished the game shooting 53 percent from the field and 52 percent from behind the arc, which is also a season-high. The Green and Gold also sunk a season-high 26 free throws, converting 79 percent of their attempts.
In the second half alone, Belhaven shot 57 percent from floor and 62 percent from downtown, while holding the Ozarks - the second highest scoring team in the ASC - to just 44 percent from the field and 13 percent from behind the three-point line.
Junior forward Brandon Pressley and sophomore guard Brent Webber combined to score 54 of Belhaven's 96 points, with Pressely pouring in 28 and Webber totaling 26.
Pressley finished 9-for-12 from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds, giving him eight double-doubles for the season. Webber drained six three-pointers, three in each half, while playing 37 minutes.
Junior point guard Ron Davis tallied his second double-double of the season, dishing out a season-high 11 assists while adding 11 points and five rebounds.
The Blazers got out to a fast start, as senior forward DJ Young-Beasley and Webber drilled back-to-back three-pointers to give Belhaven an early 10-6 lead.
The Eagles would go on a 14-6 run to go up 20-16 with 12:52 to play in the first period, and the Blazers would trail for the remainder of the half.
The Ozarks (7-12) shot 59 percent in the first half and took a 50-43 lead over Belhaven into the halftime break. Ozarks guard Jace Richardson scored 19 first half points.
The Blazers slowly chipped away at the Ozarks lead in the second half, and with 13:36 to play, took their first lead in nearly 20 minutes of play. Pressley drained a short jumper to cap off a 12-5 run and give Belhaven a 65-64 advantage.
The Green and Gold would go on to nail four three-pointers over the next four minutes of play, stretching its lead to 10, 81-71. Pressley, Young-Beasley, Webber and Jonathan Durham all hit from behind the arc for the Blazers.
The Ozarks managed to trim Belhaven's lead down to five with just over two minutes remaining, but the Blazers made eight of their final 10 free throw attempts to seal the victory.
In addition to shooting the ball well, the Green and Gold also totaled seven more rebounds than the Eagles and finished with 17 second chance points to the Ozarks' eight.
Young-Beasley finished with eight points and seven rebounds while freshman guard Rick Hodum added nine points and three rebounds off the Belhaven bench.
Richardson led the Ozarks with 31 points and seven assists while Josh Berard poured in 29 points and seven rebounds.
The Blazers and the Eagles will meet up once again on Thursday, Feb. 2, this time on Belhaven's home court of Rugg Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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