COLUMBUS, Miss. - Belhaven Men's Basketball wrapped up the holiday weekend with a road contest at MUW on Saturday afternoon, falling 89-79 inside Pohl Gymnasium.

The Blazers led early, matched the Owls shot for shot through most of the first half, and cut the deficit to single digits several times in the second half before a few Owl scoring runs created late separation.

Belhaven opened the game with strong pace and early ball movement. Braylon Dame grabbed an offensive rebound and powered in the Blazers' first basket to cut the early deficit to 3-2. Just seconds later, Benjamin Stewart answered an Owls basket with a transition three to tie the game 5-5.

After MUW briefly regained the lead with back-to-back layups, Belhaven responded immediately. DJ Jones buried a three from the left wing to make it 8-7 Blazers, and on the next trip Christian McGahan finished through contact inside for a 10-7 advantage.

MUW countered with several drives and mid-range jumpers to pull within one possession multiple times, but Belhaven maintained composure. Zion Owens rose up for a pull-up jumper to make it 12-9, and after a defensive rebound, he assisted McGahan on a fast-break layup to push the margin to 14-11.

Midway through the half, MUW made its first extended push, converting three straight layups to go up 17-12. Belhaven answered with a big shot from Ryan Tillman, who drilled a corner three to tie it 17-17. After MUW scored again, Dan Robinson hit a jumper to even the game at 19-19.

The teams traded baskets for much of the half. MUW continued to find scoring inside, while Belhaven responded with timely plays from the bench. Kam Beverly scored on a driving layup to tie the game at 21-21, then added another finish inside moments later to keep the Blazers within one.

A sequence of MUW drives and second-chance baskets created a stretch of separation, pushing the Owls in front 32-25. Belhaven steadied itself with free throws from Owens and a series of defensive rebounds. The Blazers trimmed the deficit to 34-32 after Robinson finished on back-to-back possessions, including a coast-to-coast layup following his own steal.

MUW hit a corner three and a transition layup in the final minutes to make it 41-36, but Beverly again answered, scoring twice inside to pull Belhaven within 41-38 before the Owls added one more late basket for a 41-38 halftime score.

Belhaven struck quickly out of the break. Robinson's initial drive rimmed out, but Neal Terry tipped it in to make it 41-40. MUW responded with a jumper and two straight transition layups to stretch the margin to 47-40.

A burst of momentum from MUW followed, with the Owls converting three straight baskets in the paint, forcing a Belhaven timeout as the deficit grew to 49-40.

The Blazers responded out of the timeout with a three from Jones, cutting it to 49-43. But MUW kept rolling, turning turnovers into layups, converting a putback, and burying a three for a 58-45 advantage.

Belhaven punched back. Robinson scored inside and added a free throw, then Terry knocked down a free throw to cut it to 60-49. Jones then drilled his second three of the half to bring Belhaven within 65-55 at the 10:49 mark.

The Owls continued to attack downhill, scoring on another putback and transition layup to push the margin to 72-57. Dame finally broke the run with a layup at the 5:44 mark, and Zion Owens followed with another finish to bring Belhaven within 76-63.

MUW extended the margin again with a mid-range jumper and two transition layups, but Belhaven mounted one final rally. Beverly scored inside off a steal, Dame added a fast-break jumper to cut it to 83-75 with 1:18 remaining, and Jones added a layup in transition to make it 89-79, but the clock proved the Blazers' biggest obstacle.

MUW converted at the free throw line in the final minute to close out the game and keep the lead in double digits.

The Blazers have a few days off before hosting Millsaps on Tuesday in a rematch from a few weeks ago. Tip off is set for 7:00 PM.

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