CENTRAL, S.C. – A second-half rally came up short as Belhaven bested Southern Wesleyan 90-78 on Friday night in a matchup of Southern States Athletic Conference rivals in Tysinger Gymnasium.  The loss is the second straight for the Warriors, their first such streak this year.

In the first half the teams traded leads often, with five ties and 11 lead changes.  The Blazers (5-7, 4-1 SSAC) took a 45-37 lead into halftime after closing on a 13-5 run.  In the second half the Warriors (8-6, 3-2 SSAC) fell behind by 10 early and found themselves facing an uphill climb.

The Belhaven lead ballooned to 16 before a rally by the Warriors.  Three times the Warriors cut the lead down to four, the first after a 21-9 run midway through the half and the final time coming with just 1:36 to play.  The Warriors did not score another point from that moment  as the Blazers connected on 8-of-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to push the lead to the final margin of 12.

Cameron Solomon led the Warriors with 20 points and hit three three-pointers.  Dwayne Bryant and Terrance Hutchins added 12 points and Kenny Holmes chipped in with 10.  SWU shot 47 percent from the floor but just 21 percent (4-of-19) from three point range.  Belhaven shot an impressive 58 percent overall and hit all five of their three pointers in the first half.

Jonathan Ratliff led all scorers with 21 points for the Blazers as four players reached double figures.  Bryant added 12 rebounds to record his ninth double-double of the season.

  
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday at 5 p.m. as they welcome in Loyola (La.).