JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven University Men's basketball team played host to the East Texas Baptist University Tigers on Thursday, March 4. Despite a strong offensive output from the Blazers, who had four double-digit scorers, the Tigers came away with a 75-66 victory on the hardwood.

The Blazers got off to a slow start in the opening minutes of the game as the Tigers jumped out to a 16-7 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first period. The Blazers then responded with an 8-4 scoring run to cut the lead down to 20-15 with just over six minutes left in the period, while the Tigers closed out the first period with a 15-10 scoring run to take a 35-25 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

The second period started with a 10-0 scoring run by the Blazers to tie the game at 35 apiece with 18:05 remaining in the game. The next few minutes saw the team trade baskets back and forth; however, the Tigers held a slim 51-48 lead over the Blazers with 10:32 left in the game. The Blazers continued to battle and cut the Tigers lead down to one several times over the next few minutes, but the Tigers held on and expanded their lead to 64-56 with just over five minutes remaining. The Blazers cut the Tigers lead down to four minutes, but could not overcome the Tigers as they were able to close out the game and seal the 75-66 win.

Matthew McMillan led the Blazers offensively with 19 points, while Brandon Phillips added 15 points, five rebounds, and a team-high two blocks on the night. Luke Couch tacked on 11 points with a team-leading six rebounds, and Rian Shields added ten points, five rebounds, and led the team in assists and steals with five and three respectively. As a team the Blazers were 23-of-54 from the field for a shooting percentage of 42.6 including 7-of-25 for a percentage of 28.0 from the three point area, and went 13-of-18 for a percentage of 72.2 from the free throw line.

The Blazers fall to 4-12 overall and 2-11 in American Southwest Conference play and will return to action for their regular season finale as they host the LeTourneau University YellowJackets. The action is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

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