Belhaven rallies to knock off Gold Rush, 48-45
February 11, 2010

Box score

     JACKSON, Miss. — Nathaniel Roché and A.J. Taylor scored 10 points apiece Thursday, and NAIA No. 19 Belhaven rallied in the second half for a 48-45 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Xavier University of Louisiana.
     The Blazers (19-6 overall, 9-4 GCAC) outscored the Gold Rush (14-11, 5-8) 34-19 in the second half after trailing 26-14 at halftime.
     Ryan DeRousselle and Cordell Hadnot scored 11 points each for Xavier. Hadnot grabbed 10 rebounds.
     Belhaven took the lead for good with 7:21 remaining when Bobby Grier's 3-pointer, his only one of the game, made it 34-33. The Blazers extended the lead to 43-35 with three minutes remaining.
     Taylor made 1-of-2 free throws with 44 seconds remaining to make it 45-42, but the Rush failed to tie because of two missed shots from the floor and a turnover in its next two possessions.
     Belhaven clinched the victory with three free throws in the final 17 seconds, the last by Roché with six seconds to play. Xavier's Michael Harvey made a 3-pointer before the buzzer for the final points.
     The Blazers won despite shooting 20.6 percent from the floor. But Xavier was not much better, shooting 28 percent.
     Harvey, Xavier's leading scorer this season, scored all five of his points in the final eight minutes. He scored a career-high 27 Monday in a GCAC home victory over No. 25 Tougaloo.
     Both teams will play GCAC games at 7 p.m. Saturday. Xavier will travel to William Carey, and Belhaven will play host to SUNO.