JACKSON, Miss. - For the second straight game, the Belhaven men's basketball team suffered a one-point loss, falling 72-71 to the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets Thursday night inside Rugg Arena.

Tonight's game was tightly contested throughout, featuring 10 lead changes and the largest lead by either team being eight points.

Just like the Blazers' 62-61 loss at Huntingdon on Tuesday, the inability to consistently knock down free throws hurt the Green and Gold. Belhaven attacked the basket well and made frequent trips to the charity stripe, but made just 17 of their 31 attempts. 

With 15:35 to play in the second half, Howard Payne's Talen Davis-Rentfro drilled a three-pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a 49-41 lead. Junior guard Kyle Patterson would score the next six points of the game, finishing a layup on the break and then sinking all four of his free-throw attempts in two trips to the line. 

After another Howard Payne three-pointer, freshman guard Isiah Brown made a three of his own and Brandon Pressley knocked in a couple of foul shots to tie the game at 52 with 9:12 to play. 

At the 7:24 mark of the half, sophomore guard Brent Webber sunk a three-pointer from the right wing to give Belhaven its first lead of the second period. On the ensuing Belhaven possession, Webber put the Blazers up 60-56 by nailing another shot from behind the arc. 

But Howard Payne, the current leader of the ASC West, responded with a 14-6 run to take back the lead and go ahead 70-66 with 2:52 on the clock. The Blazers weren't finished fighting, however, as Patterson made one of two shots at the foul line and Pressley made a layup inside off of a nice feed from Ron Davis, cutting the Yellow Jackets' lead to one. 

With just 12 seconds remaining, Howard Payne's De'Marcus Hurd made two free-throws to give the Yellow Jackets a 72-69 advantage. On the ensuing Belhaven possession, Webber got a good look at a tying three-pointer, but it caromed off the rim. Patterson collected the rebound and went right back up with it for two points, but the Blazers simply ran out of time and the Yellow Jacket escaped with the road win. 

Belhaven held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field for the second game in a row. Howard Payne shot just 37.8 percent from the floor and just 25.8 percent from downtown. The Blazers were at 46.2 percent at the halftime mark and shot 7-15 from the three-point line in the first half, but finished just 37.9 percent from the field and 10-29 from behind the arc. 

The Yellow Jackets scored 26 points off of 21 Belhaven turnovers. 

Patterson recorded a career-high 15 points for the Blazers, going 5-6 from both the field and the foul line. Webber made four three-pointers and poured in a game-high 18 points in just his second game in a Belhaven uniform. 

Pressley collected his third double-double of the season, totaling 10 points and 15 rebounds. Davis dished out a team-high seven assists while Dyron Anderson chipped in nine points. 

Khyce Randall nearly tallied a triple-double for the Yellow Jackets, recording 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Hurd, J Bailey and Rickey Guillory added 10 points each for Howard Payne. 

Belhaven falls to 2-9 on the season with the loss while Howard Payne improves to 8-5 with the win. 

Next up, the Blazers host another ASC foe, Sul Ross State, on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m. 

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