JACKSON, Miss. – The Birmingham-Southern men's basketball team opened up the 2017-18 season with a 110-97 road win over the Belhaven Blazers on Wednesday night.

The Panthers, after trailing 52-51 at halftime, outscored Belhaven 59 to 45 in the second half to earn their first win of the year and start the season 1-0.

Birmingham-Southern was led by junior forward Matty Rudak (Augustow, Poland/Millbrook School), who scored a team-high 21 points, collected 11 rebounds and added two assists. Rudak was also 9-for-11 from the free throw line.

Senior forward Harrison Deneka (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) scored 20 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds.

Three other Panthers finished the game with double-digit scoring efforts. Junior guard Zach Allison (Pelham, Ala./Wallace State CC) and freshman Terence Butler (Winder, Ga./Winder-Barrow HS) had 15 and 18 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Calvin Bak (Muscle Shoals, Ala./Muscle Shoals HS) also finished with 18 points. Bak was 5-for-9 from beyond the arch and added three free throws to earn his 18 points.

Birmingham-Southern will remain on the road for the next few weeks. Up next, the Panthers travel to Marietta College in Ohio for the Great Lakes Invitational and will face St. John Fisher on Friday, Nov. 17 at 4:00 p.m. EST.