JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven Men's Basketball team impressed in their regular season opener on Wednesday night taking down Rhodes College 85-70 behind a strong all-around effort.

The Blazers finished the night with five scorers in double figures as returning players and new faces combined for a dominant 15-point victory. After a bit of a slow start in the opening half, Belhaven went on a scoring run and combined it with a stout defensive effort to close the first half up 37-26. 

With the double-digit lead coming out of the break, the Blazers did well to keep Rhodes at bay with the visitors not able to close the gap further than eight points through the bulk of the second half. After weathering the Rhodes' pushes, Belhaven began to pull away in the final minutes, leading by as many as 18 points before closing out the contest with a convincing double-digit victory. 

Luke Couch led the way for the Blazers offensively recording 22 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and 3-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Jordan Marshall also added 14 points with Jermario Hersey tallying 13 points off the bench.

Damien Wheaton and Jonathan Lucas, the latter of whom made their Belhaven debut, each posted double-doubles on the night as Wheaton finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Lucas scored 13 points and led all players with 12 rebounds.

As a team, Belhaven shot over 54% from the field and over 43% from three while picking up 28 points in the paint and 11 points on fast breaks. The Blazers also benefitted from 17 points off turnovers.

The Blazers return to action on Saturday, November 11th as they host Berry College in a non-conference matchup. Tip off against the Vikings is set for 5:00 PM in Rugg Arena.

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