The Oglethorpe men's basketball team improved to 8-1 Saturday night with an 81-67 victory over in-state opponent Piedmont at Dorough Field House, marking the program's best start through nine games since it moved to NCAA Division III in 1991.

In a competitive first half, the Stormy Petrels immediately ran out to a 10-2 lead over the first 2:30. However, a 9-2 Piedmont run drew them to within a point, 19-18. The visiting Lions were still just one point back, 21-20, with 10:07 remaining in the half when the Petrels embarked on another run, 9-0 over three minutes. From there, the two teams traded baskets for much of the rest of the half with the Petrels going into the halftime break with their largest lead of the game to that point, 46-34, on a 15-4 run.

Piedmont actually outshot the Petrels in the first half, shooting 54.2 percent to Oglethorpe's 50 percent, but the Petrels fired 14 more shots and drained six more baskets in the stanza. The Petrels outrebounded Piedmont in the half, 19-15, and committed just five turnovers to Piedmont's 11. Senior guard Tyler Courson scored 13 points in the half on 5-of-6 shooting, while junior center Jordan Kinney gathered 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

In the second half, the Petrels kept the Lions at arm's length for the duration, leading by as many as 16 points, 56-40 with 13:36 to go. Piedmont cut the lead to seven with a 16-7 run over an 8-minute stretch, making the score 63-56 with 5:32 remaining. However, the Petrels put the game away with a 15-7 run of their own over the next four minutes, accruing a 78-63 lead with 1:39 left. From there, the Petrels hit free throws down the stretch and cruised home with the victory.

The Lions again outshot Oglethorpe in the second half, 50-to-38.5 percent, but the Petrels hit 73.7 percent of their free throws in the half to Piedmont's 55.6. Additionally, the Petrels outrebounded the Lions 19-12 in the second half. Courson had another double digit half, recording 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting.

For the game, Piedmont outshot Oglethorpe 52-to-45.3 percent, including 41.2-to-33.3 percent from the 3-point line. Oglethorpe shot 68 percent at the free-throw line to Piedmont's 57.1 percent, though, and outrebounded the Lions 38-27, including 15-4 on the offensive glass. As such, Oglethorpe outscored their opponent 12-2 in second-chance points. The Petrels scored 22 points off of 20 Piedmont turnovers while the Lions scored 12 points off of 15 Oglethorpe turnovers.

Courson once again led the Petrels with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-7 three-point shooting and 4-of-6 free-throw shooting. Kinney finished with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while junior guard Alex Davis contributed 10 points and three steals.

The 8-1 Stormy Petrels have one more game before breaking for final exams, as they'll take on crosstown rival Emory Monday night at 7 p.m. in Dorough Field House. After that, the Petrels won't take the floor again until Dec. 29-30 for the Country Inn and Suites Holiday Classic.