The Oglethorpe men's basketball team found themselves locked in a tight game with Southern Athletic Association opponent Sewanee Friday night at Dorough Field House, but it was the visiting Tigers who made a couple of big shots late en route to a 68-64 win. The defeat drops the Stormy Petrels to 8-10 on the season, 3-4 in SAA play.
The Petrels built a 7-point lead, 51-44, with 9:40 remaining in the contest. From there, though,Sewanee started a comeback and vaulted themselves right back into the game. They scored eight consecutive points over the next 2:20 to push into the lead, 52-51, with 7:22 remaining. The two teams traded baskets for a bit, but the Petrels got back-to-back hoops from junior guard George Andino and sophomore guard Chris Lawrence, putting themselves back up by four points with 4:46 remaining. Andino went on to score 15 points on 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from the 3-point line, passing out four assists, as well. Lawrence finished with 12 points on 4 of 6 from long distance.
Another Lawrence three with 3:18 left pushed the Oglethorpe advantage to 62-57. However, the Tigers began their final run at that point. They reeled off seven straight points over the next two minutes, vaulting into the lead, 64-62. Junior guard Connor Smith got fouled on a drive to the basket with 45 seconds remaining and made both free throws, tying the game at 64-apiece. However, Sewanee forward Brody Stone sank a 3-pointer at the other end, giving the Tigers a 67-64 lead with 19 seconds remaining. A missed shot by the Petrels gave the visitors the chance to put the game away at the free throw line.
The Petrels had a 31-25 edge at halftime, but the Tigers erased that early in the second, beginning the stanza on a 19-6 run and building a 44-37 lead with 13:42 left. Oglethorpe immediately answered back with a run of their own, though, embarking on a huge 14-0 spurt over the next four minutes to push out to a 7-point lead, their largest of the game, with 9:40 remaining.
Oglethorpe got off to a good start in the first half, slowly building a 15-9 edge over the game's opening six minutes. The two sides traded baskets for a stretch and the Petrels still held a 20-15 lead with 7:23 remaining in the period. The Tigers answered with five consecutive points to tie the game, though, and the game remained tied with 1:44 left in the half. The Petrels finished on a flourish, however, garnering back-to-back 3-pointers from Lawrence and Andino to push out to a 31-25 lead at the break.
Sophomore forward Will Perry led the team with 17 points on 6 of 8 from the field, 2 of 3 from long distance, and 3 of 4 from the foul line. He also passed out three assists. Fellow sophomore forward Chase Wardlaw led the team with six rebounds and three blocks.
As a team, the Petrels shot 48 percent from the field and held the Tigers to 41 percent. The home team also converted on 48 percent of their attempted 3-pointers and held Sewanee to 32 percent in that regard. However, Sewanee converted 91 percent of their free throw attempts, missing just one for the game. The Petrels were 67 percent from the line. Sewanee won the rebounding battle 36-28, including a 15-6 margin on the offensive glass and a 21-11 margin in the second half.
"Unfortunately, we let one slip away from us tonight," said Oglethorpe head coach Philip Ponder. "I thought we executed well on offense. We defended and rebounded well in the first half. The difference in the game was our defensive rebounding, or lack thereof, in the second half, and us not getting stops in the last two minutes. We shot a higher percentage than them, but they attempted 13 more shots than us due to the defensive rebounding issue. We'll just have to learn from it and get ready for Sunday."
On Sunday, the Petrels will take on Centre in the first meeting between the two SAA rivals this season. That game will tip at approximately 3 p.m. from the Blacktop at Dorough Field House. Following that, the Petrels will welcome Rhodes and Hendrix to Dorough for their final two home games of the regular season Feb. 5 and 7.