JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven University men's basketball team didn't just win in their game against Pensacola Christian on Friday night, they strictly dominated the game in its entirety for nearly the entire length of the contest.

Belhaven led for more than thirty-two minutes and tied for another three minutes en route to a commanding 92-73 victory over the Eagles inside of Rugg Arena.

Belhaven shot 65% from the field and improved to 1-1 overall on the season with the win.

Box Score

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INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final:  Belhaven 92, Pensacola Christian 73

Records: Belhaven 1-1, Pensacola Christian 1-8

Location:  Rugg Arena | Jackson, Miss.

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HOW IT HAPPENED

- The Eagles jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead within the first two minutes of the contest before Belhaven put its first points on the board with the help of two Brosnan Cooks free throws to make the score 5-2.

- Over the next several minutes, Belhaven cut the Eagles lead down to 11-10 before getting the go ahead layup from John Works to give the Blazers its first lead, 12-11.

- All the momentum in the contest was just beginning to swing in the favor of Belhaven as the green and gold cruised to a 10-0 run to expand its lead to 19-11.

- With just under a minute until half time, Rick Hodum knocked down a layup and drew a shooting foul to get to the line for the three point play, in which he drained the free throw to increase Belhaven's lead to a game high nineteen points, 46-27.

- Belhaven led 46-27 at the break.

- The second half was the same story as the first half as Belhaven continued to dominate in every facet of the game.

- With 13:29 remaining in the game, a John Works 3-pointer gave Belhaven its largest lead of the night, 65-24.

- The Eagles continued to claw back into the game, trimming the score down from twenty-four points to nine points, 80-71, with 2:57 seconds left in regulation. 

- However, a 12-2 run over the remaining minutes for Belhaven was enough to ensure a comfortable victory in the end, as the green and gold won by a final score of 92-73 in the home opener.

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KEY STATISTICS

- Rick Hodum finished with a resounding performance on the floor as he went 8-of-12 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point land, a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line, and a team-high 21 points.

- John Works was a force in the paint all night long, going 5-of-7 from the field, 3-for-3 from the free throw line, 14 points, and drilled his only three point shot of the night.

- Justin Jones tied for second on the team along with Works, with 14 points on 4-of-7 from the field. Jones was 2-of-4 in 3-pointers.

- Laramie Long was perfect in every facet of his game on the night as he was 6-of-6 from the field, 1-of-1 in 3-pointers, while earning 13 total points on the night.

- As a team, Belhaven was 34-of-52 (65.4%) from the field, 9-of-19 (47.4 %) in three-pointers, and 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line.

- Additionally, Belhaven received 59 points from the bench and had 50 points in the paint. 

- Belhaven led for 32:25 minutes and had a lead of 24 points with 13:29 left in the game.

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UP NEXT

Belhaven will take a few days off for the Thanksgiving break before returning to Rugg Arena next Saturday, November 24 to take on Sewanee University. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.

To view the complete box score, click here.

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