JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven University men's basketball team faltered 86-75 inside Rugg Arena on Thursday evening to Louisiana College in American Southwest Conference play. With the loss, the Blazers move to 3-11 overall and 2-10 in conference play,

The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to open the game, but the Blazers got going to even the score at 13 with 12:35 remaining in the first half. The Blazers and Wildcats went back and forth for the majority of the first half as neither team lead more than eight points in the first half. LC took the 47-39 lead going into the halftime break. 

The Wildcats came out of the break going on a 17-3 run, but the Blazers maintained their composure and paced themselves to stay within a few possessions of the Wildcats. The Blazers narrowed the lead to nine points with 16 seconds remaining in the game, but the Blazers eventually would fall to the wildcats by a final score of 86-75.

Luke Couch finished with 16 points on 4-for-11 from the field, including 3-6 from behind the arc. Matthew McMillan chipped in 12 points, six assists, and went 40 percent from behind the arc. Rian Shields and Joseph Jones both finished in double figures with 10 points apiece. Korri Edwards added nine points and had five rebounds, which was a team-high. Brandon Phillips notched eight points and shot 60 percent from behind the charity stripe, while Rance Champ added six points in the contest to go 2-for-2 from the field. Martavin McWilliams rounded out the scoring with four points for the Blazers. As a team, the Blazers shot 45.6 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line.

The Blazers will return to the court on Saturday, February 27 against the Mississippi University for Women Owls. Tip off is set for 6:00 p.m.

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