BROWNWOOD, Texas - The Belhaven Men's Basketball team was able to hold on for a 101-96 overtime win at Howard Payne to open up American Southwest Conference play. The win on Thursday marked the third win in four games for the Blazers.

The game against Howard Payne started with both teams going back and forth on the offensive end until the Blazers were able to go on a 16-5 run in the final six minutes of the half. At the break, Belhaven led the hosts 48-28 on the back of 39.3% shooting from three.

The three point shot would not be as kind to the Blazers in the second half going just 2-11 from beyond the arc. Howard Payne would close the gap with a 52-point second half including a layup in the final seconds to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, Belhaven was perfect from the field going 5-5 including 3-3 from three. The Blazers would also go 8-10 from the free throw line in overtime to secure the conference road win. For the game, the Blazers shot 48.5% from the field and 38.1% from beyond the three point line. The Blazers won the rebounding battle 37-35 and went 19-26 from the free throw line.

On the night, Belhaven was led by freshman Luke Couch who scored a career high 28 points on 9-15 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Brosnan Cooks continued to play a pivotal role for Belhaven racking up 22 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in 35 minutes. Josh Roberts and Rick Hodum both scored 14 points on the way to the Blazers win.

With the win, Belhaven climbs to 4-6 on the season and starts out 1-0 in conference play. The Blazers will look to continue their strong form Saturday, January 4th when they travel to Alpine, Texas to face Sul Ross State University. Tip off against the Lobos is set for 3 PM.

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