DEMOREST, Ga. - The Belhaven Men's Basketball team made it three straight wins in conference action on Saturday as they took down a tough Piedmont team on the road 72-71, surviving a late Lions rally.

The early minutes of the contest were back and forth with teams trading buckets early and neither club able to grab an early lead of significance. The Blazers hot start from the field though would be enough to see them pull out front in the middle stages of the first half. 

Belhaven stayed strong on both ends of the floor finishing the first half 53% from the field and a solid 3-9 from long range. Meanwhile, they held Piedmont to just 12 made field goals on 34 attempts and only a 2-15 half from beyond the arc. 

The second half proved to be a tougher test with Piedmont heating up from long range hitting 7 of their 15 attempts. Belhaven led by double digits near the midway point of the half setting up what looked to be a comfortable finish but late Piedmont runs closed the gap.

In the final minutes, Belhaven saw their lead shrink to just one point on multiple occasions but the Blazers showed their prowess in the clutch, never conceding the lead. With eight seconds left, Piedmont had the ball with a chance to win, but smart use of fouls to give limited the chance available to the Lions and in the end, their buzzer beater three was off target.

Jordan Marshall led the way on the floor for the Blazers with 20 points on 50% shooting from the field and from beyond the arc. Damien Wheaton had a strong day as well tallying 13 points on 6-9 shooting from the field while Luke Couch also finished in double digit scoring with 10 points. Jonathan Lucas narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. 

Defense and rebounding proved the differences for the Blazers as they held a Piedmont offense that was averaging 89.5 points per game to 71 points, their second lowest total on the season. Belhaven also dominated the boards, out-rebounding the hosts 46-24 overall.

Belhaven improved to 11-5 on the season and 3-1 in conference play with a quick return to Rugg Arena on the slate early next week. The Blazers will host Huntingdon in conference play on Tuesday with tip against the Hawks set for 7:00 PM.

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