The Belhaven men’s basketball team are regular season co-champions after cruising through Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) play with an 11-1 record to go along with an overall mark of 21-4.
The Blazers, who started conference play on an 11-game winning streak before dropping the final game of the regular season to Maryville, share the title with the Scots (20-5, 11-1). Each team’s only loss of conference play came at the hands of each other, meaning both will have a first-round bye when the CCS Tournament picks up this week.
“This season already has gone down as one of the most successful in program history with more still to play for in the CCS Tournament, including the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the champion,” a portion of a press release from Belhaven Athletics reads.
Belhaven will play in the semifinal round on Friday against the winner of Huntingdon and Piedmont. Maryville, the tournament’s host, will face the winner of Asbury and Covenant. If both top seeds win, it will set up the third straight season Belhaven and Maryville have met in the conference championship game, with the Scots winning in 2023 and 2024.
2024-25 has been a historic run for the Blazers. It is not only the team’s first share of a regular season conference championship since moving to Division III in 2015, but it is also the first time Belhaven has reached 20 wins since 2009-10 when competing on the NAIA level.
Leading the way have been Jordan Marshall, Jacob Reese, and Jonathan Lucas – all three of whom are averaging double-digit scoring. Reese has also been a force down low, grabbing nearly 14 rebounds per game.
The full schedule for the CCS Tournament can be found here.
