JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven men's basketball team couldn't slow down one of the top teams in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) Saturday afternoon, falling 97-75 to the Sul Ross State Lobos inside Rugg Arena. 

Sul Ross (9-6) is the top defensive team in the conference, but its offense was firing on all cylinders versus the Blazers. The Lobos shot a season-high 56.5 percent from the floor and made seven three-pointers in 17 tries, while also dishing out 25 total assists.

Belhaven (2-10) attacked the basket well, making a season-high 20 free-throws in 27 attempts, and outrebounded Sul Ross 37 to 35, but struggled to make outside shots, finishing at just 26.9 percent from behind the arc.

Sul Ross blitzed Belhaven early, scoring 18 unanswered points to turn a 9-7 lead into a 27-7 advantage. The Lobos made nine consecutive field goals over that stretch.

Ron Davis did his best to keep the Blazers within striking distance of the Lobos, scoring 12 points over a five-minute span late in the first half.

Belhaven entered halftime trailing 50-33, and began the second half on an 8-2 run to cut the lead down to 11 points. After the Lobos built their lead back up to 19 at the 14:20 mark of the half, Dyron Anderson drilled a three-pointer and Kyle Patterson and Victor Price made consecutive fastbreak layups to make the score 62-50.

But the Blazers were never able get the Sul Ross lead below double-digits and the Lobos increased its advantage to 21 points with a 9-1 run late in the second period.

Davis finished with a season-high 22 points to pace the Blazers, shooting 8-17 from the field and 2-5 from the three-point line. Patterson, Anderson and Brandon Pressley recorded 10 points each. Pressley added a game-high 10 boards for his fourth double-double of the season.

Price chipped in with eight points and a season-high five rebounds while Justin Jones contributed four points and two assists off the Belhaven bench.

Caleb Thomasson totaled 19 points on 8-9 shooting for the Lobos. A.J. James and Xavier Webb added 17 and 13 points, respectively, coming off of the Sul Ross bench.

Eight different Sul Ross players recorded multiple assists, with Jacob Dawson and Connor Dawson tallying five each. 

Next up, Belhaven travels to Pineville, La. to take on Louisiana College on Thursday, Jan. 12. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

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