The Oglethorpe men's basketball team got their season off to a fine start early Saturday morning in Dorough Field House, as they defeated Spalding, 79-67, in their Midnight Madness season opener as part of the Stormy Petrel Tipoff Classic. The game started just after midnight on Nov. 15, the first date of NCAA Division III basketball play.
The game saw the Stormy Petrels fall behind in the very early-going, but then storm back to lead by as many as 16 points in the first half. They were able to hold the lead and pretty much cruise in the second half. The Petrels got contributions from a wide variety of players, as they got 15 points and seven rebounds from senior center Jordan Kinney, 15 points from sophomore guard Connor Smith, and 13 points and five assists from senior guard Alex Davis. Kinney shot 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line, while Smith went 30 percent from beyond-the-arc and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Freshman guard Chase Wardlaw had an excellent start to his career, going a perferct 4-for-4 from the field while scoring eight points and grabbing four boards. As a team, the Petrels shot 55.8 percent from the field to Spalding's 35.9 percent. The Petrels outscored the Golden Eagles 44-26 in the paint, 14-7 off turnovers and 20-2 off the fast break.
The game started with an 8-0 Spalding run over the first two-and-a-half minutes, but the Petrels settled down and answered back in a major way after that. Spalding did not put together back-to-back baskets for the rest of the half, in fact, as the Petrels turned up the defensive pressure and got their offense in gear, as well. After falling behind 8-0, the Petrels outscored the Golden Eagles 41-20 over the remainder of the half. The run was augmented by 15 points from Smith, who shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for the period. As a team, the Petrels shot 53.6 percent for the half and 45.5 percent from three-point range. The Petrels led 41-28 at halftime.
The Petrels continued that run into the first three minutes of the second half, scoring five of the first six points of the period and taking a 46-29 advantage, putting the run at a total of 46-21. Spalding came back with a run of their own, though, embarking on a 9-2 spurt to quickly get back within 10 points, 48-38, with 15:25 left. The teams traded baskets for awhile, which suited Oglethorpe just fine, as any time it looked like the Golden Eagles were starting to make inroads, the Petrels would answer with back-to-back buckets. With 11:11 left, Spalding made a pair of free throws to cut the lead down to single digits, 55-46. It was as close as they would get for the rest of the game. Oglethorpe started the run that finished off the game at that point, outscoring Spalding 15-6 over the next six minutes. The Petrels held their largest lead, 70-52, with 5:28 remaining. From there, they cruised to the 79-67 season-opening win.
Kinney played a huge part in closing the game down in the second half. He scored 12 second-half points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
"I was really please with tonight's effort," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "I thought our intensity was great and, after the first few minutes, we defended really well the rest of the game. The only negative was the number of offensive rebounds we gave up, but we handled their press really well and only had three turnovers in the second half. It was a great start to the season against a quality opponent."
About the Midnight Madness crowd, Ponder said, "I'd like to thank all the students and fans that came out to support us tonight. The atmosphere was great, as usual, and I thought it made for a fun event to start the season."
The 1-0 Petrels will conclude the Stormy Petrel Tipoff Classic Saturday night when they take on Boyce at 8 p.m. from Dorough Field House. The Bulldogs fell to Toccoa Falls, 97-69, in Friday night's Stormy Petrel Tipoff Classic opener. Toccoa Falls will play Spalding at 6 p.m. Saturday night leading up to the Oglethorpe-Boyce contest.