The Oglethorpe men's basketball team outscored the visiting Berry Vikings 45-31 in the second half in the SAA opener for both teams Thursday night in Dorough Field House. The result was a dominating 90-64 victory for the Stormy Petrels, allowing them to get their conference season off to an excellent start and improving them to 7-2 on the season.
The game was close early and Berry led by as many as five points with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Petrels restored order in quick fashion, leading by as many as 14 points with 1:23 remaining in the first en route to a 12-point halftime lead, 45-33. The Petrels then dominated the second half of play, outscoring the Vikings by 14 points in the period and leading by as many as 31 points with 2:45 remaining in the game. The Petrels shot 48.4 percent from the field to Berry's 28.8 percent. Oglethorpe had a 41.7 percent conversion rate from three-point range, but their lockdown defense allowed the Vikings only an 11.5 percent mark from beyond the arc. In addition, the Petrels outrebounded the Vikings 48-40, outscored them 38-30 in the paint, and outscored them 32-21 off the bench.
Senior guard Alex Davis continued his excellent play of late, recording a double-double on the night. He poured in 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line while grabbing 10 rebounds and passing out five assists. He led the team in both of the latter two categories. Junior guard Drew Patrick led the team in points with 17 on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Senior center Jordan Kinney had 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting while freshman forward Chase Wardlaw, getting the first start of his career in place of the injured Will Perry, scored 10 points, grabbed six boards, passed out three assists and made a couple of steals.
The game started well for the Petrels, as they went on an 8-0 run to build an 8-2 lead over the game's first three minutes. Berry began to cut into that, though, and their stingy defense gave the Petrels trouble in the early-going. Berry embarked on a 17-6 run to take a 22-17 advantage with 9:18 left in the opening half, a lead that would turn out to be their largest of the game. They still held that lead, 24-19, with 7:42 to go before the break, but Oglethorpe mounted a rally of their own, netting back-to-back three-pointers from Patrick and sophomore guard George Andino to retake the lead. Berry took the lead back a couple of possessions later, but it was the last time they would hold an advantage. The Petrels were in the midst of a huge 23-4 run which would end with the home side holding a 42-28 lead with 1:23 left in the opening half. The Vikings were able to push to within 12 going into the halftime break. Davis scored 12 of his points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half.
In the second, the Petrels used a couple more spurts to pull away from the Vikings and put the game out of reach. The first one came early in the period, as they were able to score eight consecutive points and build their advantage to 19, 56-37, with 16:18 remaining. Berry ran off six straight points of their own to pull themselves back to within 13, 56-43, with 13:24 left, but it was as close as they would be able to get. Still up by 13 with 11:24 left, the Petrels put the game away with a huge 27-9 run over the next nine minutes of action. When the dust settled, the Petrels led by a game-high 31 points with 2:45 left. From there, they cruised to the 26-point win.
"Tonight was a good team win," said Oglethorpe Head Coach Philip Ponder. "Berry has lots of size and athleticism, but I thought we were able to do a good job countering that. We had lots of guys contribute to the win in different ways, as we've had the whole season up to this point. We've had different guys step up in every game and tonight was no excpetion. It was important to start SAA play off with a win and we accomplished that tonight."
The Petrels have one more game before breaking for final exams. They'll travel up to Demorest, Ga., to take on Piedmont Saturday at 3 p.m. The home-standing Lions will be coming off an upset victory over Top 10 opponent Emory and look to provide a tough test for the Petrels. After final exams, the Petrels will host the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Holiday Classic Dec. 19-20 in Dorough Field House.