JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven University men's basketball team dropped an 89-75 decision to Covenant College in the first exhibition contest of the year. The Blazers were shorthanded in this game, due to a positive COVID test this morning. Belhaven dressed only eight athletes out of the 27 that is on the roster.

Covenant College jump out to a 31-13 advantage over the Blazers with 6:10 remaining in the first half of play. The Scots outscored the Green and Gold 15-8 the rest of the half to bring the score to 46-21 going into the halftime break.

In the opening minutes of the first half, the Scots increased their lead by 36 points, which was their largest lead of the contest. With the help of Matthew McMillan, the Blazers fought back to cut the deficit to only 14 points at the end of the game. The Blazers ultimately fell 89-75 in the first exhibition contest on the year.

Matthew McMillan led all scorers with 40 points, while also making 10 from behind the arc. McMillan shot 46.1 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from three point range. He also had a steal, two assists, three rebounds, and shot 75 percent from the charity stripe.

Brandon Phillips tallied 12 points, six rebounds, and went 5-for-9 from the field. Austin Reed posted nine points, while Raymond Rios, Jr. finished the night with six points and a team-high seven assists. Rian Shields and Keegan Odom rounded out the scoring for the Blazers.

As a team, the Blazers shot 35.9 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from behind the arc. Additionally, Belhaven went 15-for-20 from the free throw line.

The Green and Gold returns to the court this Saturday against Birmingham Southern College in Birmingham, Ala. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

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