The Oglethorpe men's basketball team got off to a great start in Demorest, Ga., Saturday afternoon, outscoring the homestanding Piedmont Lions 41-18 in the first half. They used that margin to cruise to an 82-61 victory, leading the entire way through the contest. The Stormy Petrels now improve to 8-2 on the season.
The Petrels jumped on Piedmont immediately, scoring the first 10 points of the game and generally running away with it in the first half. The Petrels outscored Piedmont by 23 points over the opening period, shooting 48.4 percent for the half to Piedmont's 27.6 percent. In addition, the Petrels shot 55.6 percent from three-point range in the first half to the Lions' 10 percent. Piedmont played Oglethorpe much more evenly in the second half, but the damage was already done.
For the game, the Petrels shot 47 percent from the field, including 43.8 percent from the three-point line. Meanwhile, they held Piedmont under 40 percent shooting for the contest. In addition, the Petrels outrebounded Piedmont, 41-39, and turned the ball over just nine times while forcing 17 Lions turnovers. The Petrels scored 18 points off turnovers to Piedmont's six.
Individually, junior guard Drew Patrick led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Patrick also grabbed six rebounds and collected two assists and two blocks. Senior center Jordan Kinney scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting and led the Petrels in rebounds with seven. Sophomore guard Romello Bates tied for the team lead with five assists and led with four steals, while senior guard Alex Davis passed out five assists, as well.
The Petrels got off to a roaring start, scoring the game's first 10 points over the first four minutes of the contest. After a couple of Piedmont baskets, Oglethorpe continued their run, outscoring the Lions 12-0 over another stretch to take a 24-7 lead with 12:11 left in the opening stanza. After the two teams traded baskets for several minutes, the Petrels closed the half on another 10-0 run over the final four minutes of the period. Senior guard Connor Smith led the Petrels in the first half, scoring 10 points over the opening period on 3-of-6 three-point shooting.
Up 41-18 at the start of the second half, the Petrels only had to maintain their lead, and they managed that and then some through most of the second half. After the Lions cut Oglethorpe's lead to 21 points with 17:26 left, the Petrels ended any doubt about the outcome of the game. They went on a 12-5 run over the next four minutes, increasing their lead to 26 points, 55-29, with 13:26 remaining. After another Piedmont mini-run, the Petrels embarked on the spurt which would give them their largest lead. They outscored Piedmont 12-1 over a two-minute stretch, giving themselves a 32-point lead with seven minutes remaining in the game. From there, the Lions slowly whittled the Oglethorpe lead down for the remainder of the game, but it wasn't nearly enough to make a difference as the Petrels left Demorest with a 21-point win.
"I was very pleased with both our effort and our execution today," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "We played extremely well on both ends of the court for the whole game. In fact, I don't think we can play much better than we did in the first half. We're happy to get the win and are looking forward to a few days off as the guys get ready for final exams. We'll be excited to get back after it on Dec. 19!"
On that day, the Petrels will begin their annual Holiday Inn Express and Suites Holiday Classic when they host MacMurray at 7 p.m. They'll then continue the Holiday Classic on Dec. 20 when they take on Huntingdon at 5 p.m. SAA rival Centre will also take part in the Holiday Classic, playing against those two teams on opposite days.