JACKSON, Miss. -- The Millsaps Men's Basketball team lost their season opener at Belhaven University 85-76.

In front of a strong showing by Belhaven's crowd, the Majors stayed competitive every step of the way, fighting hard from behind while Belhaven played with a lead. The Blazers jumped out quick, gaining an early lead on Millsaps. Led by the great all around play by Trent Markwith, Millsaps stayed in the game as his strong drives kept their offense afloat for much of the first half. Despite shots not falling and three pointers not being there for Millsaps, they only trailed 32-40 at the end of the first half.

In the second half, the play of Trent Markwith, Brennan Gager, and Sam Kohnke kept Millsaps in the game, with Gager leading the way with 14 second half points. Markwith was on triple double watch all second half and Kohnke was perfect from three point land at 3-3 with 13 second half points. Belhaven eventually jumped out to an insurmountable lead with around 5 minutes remaining before Millsaps made a strong push, armed by three pointers and forced turnovers to make the game close within the last 3 minutes before ultimately falling to the Blazers 85-76.

Men's Basketball was led by Trent Markwith, who led the Majors in both rebounds and assists and nearly ended the game with a triple double, with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Brennan Gager led the Majors in scoring with 17 after a strong second half. Buck Blanz and Sam Kohnke were other Majors also in double figures, ending with 11 and 13 points respectively.

Millsaps Men's Basketball will be back in action this weekend in the SCAC/SAA Challenge. Follow the Major men's Basketball team and the rest of Millsaps athletics on Facebook at Millsaps Major Athletics, Twitter @MajorAtheltics, and Instagram @GoMajors. Show you support for your favorite team by using the hashtags GoMajors and MajorPlay.