JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven men's basketball team dropped a 70-56 decision to the University of Texas at Dallas Saturday afternoon inside Rugg Arena. 

Belhaven (4-17) led Texas Dallas (8-13) by as many as 16 points in the first half, but were outscored 44-25 by the Comets in the second half. 

The Blazers made five three-pointers, three by Ron Davis and two from Rick Hodum, over a four-minute span midway through the first half to turn a five-point advantage into a 25-9 lead. 

Texas Dallas quickly put together a 9-0 run, punctuated by a Ben Smith fastbreak dunk, to cut Belhaven's lead to seven before senior forward DJ Young-Beasley hit a three-pointer to stem the tide. 

The Green and Gold knocked down seven three-pointers in the first half and held the Comets to just 29 percent shooting. 

A slow start to the second half undid Belhaven, as the Blazers scored just five points through the first nine minutes of the second period. Texas Dallas started the half slowly as well, making just two of their first eight shot attempts, but a 12-3 run gave the comets a seven-point advantage with 11:08 to play. 

Brent Webber kept the Blazers within striking distance, knocking down two shots from downtown in less than two minutes of play to make it a four-point game with just under nine minutes remaining. 

But an 11-3 Texas Dallas run put the Blazers in a 12-point hole, and the Comets made seven of their final 12 field goal attempts to prevent the Green and Gold from making a late comeback. 

Junior forward Brandon Pressley notched his ninth double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 14 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds. Webber and Hodum added 11 points each for the Blazers while Davis recorded nine points and seven assists.

Webber, Hodum, Davis and Young-Beasley drained three shots from behind the arc each. The Blazers' 12 three-pointers marks the 10th time the team has made at least 10 three-pointers in a game this season. 

Caleb Banks paced the Comets with 13 points and nine assists. Kyle Coulter and Dimitrius Underwood each recorded a double-double, with Coulter tallying 12 points and 11 boards, and Underwood totaling 10 points and 14 rebounds. 

Next up, the Blazers travel to Tyler, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 9 to face the Texas-Tyler Patriots at 7:30 p.m.

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