JACKSON, Miss. -  The W men's basketball kept the pressure on host Belhaven for the first half of the season opener for both teams, before succumbing by an 87-65 score at Coach Rugg Arena. The Owls (0-1) trailed the Blazers (1-0) by just seven points, 35-28, at the intermission before the hosts pulled away in the second stanza.
 
A three-point basket by Chris Evans at the 16:42 mark of the second half got MUW to within one possession, 38-35. The W was still within three points with 13:57 left after a Tyson Smithey layup mad the score 42-39.
 
MUW was still within striking distance, down by 13 with 7:45 left to play. But the game's pendulum seemed to swing from possible to improbable for the Owls in a 15 span, as BU's Jordan Williams tallied seven points on a pair of threes and a free throw that gave the Blazers a 20-point cushion.
 
Early second half fouls by The W didn't help, either. The Owls put BU in the double bonus with 12:19 left in the game and the Blazers converted 14 of 16 chances after that. For the night, Belhaven made good on 24-of-37 from the charity stripe, while the W converted a respectable 21-of-28 free throw tries.
 
MUW was also a victim of its own miscues by committing 24 turnovers – 13 unforced – which Belhaven turned into 23 of its points.
 
BU held a 35-28 edge in rebounds. The Owls were outdone on the offensive glass, however, by an 18-to-6 margin. That resulted in 18 second-chance points by the Blazers.
 
The senior guard Evans led The W's offense with 11 points. Evans connected on 4-of-10 from the floor, overall, and was 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
 
Owls' newcomer Eric Bass Jr. had 10 points on a perfect shooting night. Bass was 1-of-1 on field goals, but reeled in 8-of-8 free throws.
 
Senior Dariun Doss and the junior Smithey chipped in nine and eight points, respectively. Smithey pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds, while Doss hauled in five caroms.  Jackson Reid, Josh Dukes, and Isaiah Ball all added six points, apiece.

"There's a reason Belhaven was selected by the College Conference of the South coaches to finish second in their league," MUW Head Coach Dean Burrows said. "They were so much more physical than we were; were first to the floor for every loose ball; and punked us on the glass. For as bad as we played in the first half, to be down seven at intermission and to get it down to a single possession game, with the ball twice, only to turn it over and then the next possession have an offensive foul called on us, I thought we could possibly get over the hump. That obviously wasn't the case." 
 
The loss kept The W winless versus Belhaven in the all-time series. The Blazers hold a 9-0 lead in MUW's most-contested series.
 
The W will net jet off to New York to play in the SUNY- Oneonta Freilich Memorial tournament. The Owls will face Westfield State University on Saturday (Nov. 16/4 p.m. CT), before facing either Elmira University or host SUNY-Oneonta on Sunday (Nov. 17).