Jackson, Miss. - On Senior Day inside Rugg Arena, Belhaven honored its six seniors and delivered a fitting performance, defeating Covenant 100-88 in the regular season finale. The Blazers never trailed rom start to finish, used timely scoring runs in both halves, and closed conference play at 7-5 as they now await their seed in the upcoming CCS Tournament.  

Belhaven shot 44.2 percent from the field, connected on 12 three-pointers, and went 20-of-26 at the free throw line while forcing 15 turnovers and scoring 24 points off those miscues.

The Blazers set the tone immediately on both ends. After Neal Terry blocked Pierce Smith on the opening possession, Charleston Wallace converted inside and added a free throw to give Belhaven an early lead. Covenant briefly tied the game on a three from Logan Patterson, but that would be the only tie of the afternoon.

Belhaven answered with a quick perimeter surge. CJ Minton drilled a fast-break three, Braylon Dame followed with back-to-back triples, and Dan Robinson added a transition layup to stretch the lead to 16-9.

The first decisive stretch came midway through the half. With the margin at 21-11, DJ Jones knocked down a three, Minton converted a four-point play after hitting from deep and drawing contact, and Kam Beverly and Jones each scored on second-chance opportunities. That 14-0 run pushed the lead to 25-11 and forced Covenant to regroup.

Covenant chipped away behind baskets from Ethan Parker and Korbin Long, and Patterson's three at the 8:31 mark trimmed the deficit to 37-22. Later, a 6-0 burst fueled by Parker and Smith cut the margin to seven with just over three minutes left.

Belhaven steadied itself late. Robinson knocked down two free throws, Dame finished a layup off a Terry assist, and the Blazers closed the half on a 6-0 push to take a 43-32 advantage into the locker room.

Covenant opened the second half with urgency. Patterson scored in transition and Bolton Born hit a fast-break three to trim the lead to nine early. But Belhaven answered immediately.

Benjamin Stewart drilled a transition three, Jones finished on the break after a steal, and Minton added a jumper to extend the lead back to double digits. That 8-0 response halted Covenant's momentum and restored control.

Midway through the half, Belhaven delivered the knockout stretch. Stewart connected from deep, Zion Owens converted a fast-break layup, and Beverly scored inside and completed a three-point play to balloon the lead to 66-43.

Covenant continued to battle. Parker converted multiple fast-break finishes, Long knocked down a three with 5:39 remaining, and Noah Pence hit from deep to cut the deficit to 11 at 79-68.

But each time the visitors threatened, Belhaven responded at the free throw line. Terry was steady down the stretch, going 8-of-10 from the stripe and adding a tip-in to maintain separation. Dame also converted three straight free throws during a key stretch to keep the margin comfortable.

In the final minutes, Avery Richards buried a transition three and later added a layup to help push the Blazers to the century mark. Covenant added late threes from Parker and Luuk Dusek, but the outcome was never in doubt as Belhaven secured the 100-88 Senior Day victory.

With the win, the Blazers conclude the regular season at 13-12 overall and now await their seeding for the CCS Tournament.

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