The Oglethorpe men's basketball team suffered their first home loss of the season Friday night in Dorough Field House, falling to the visiting Rhodes Lynx, 66-60. The Stormy Petrels made a run late, reducing a 17-point deficit to just four, but Rhodes was able to pull out the road victory in the end.
The Rhodes defense frustrated the Petrels all night long, holding them to 15 fewer shots than the visitors and nine fewer made baskets. Rhodes kept Oglethorpe at arm's length throughout the first half, but the Petrels were right in the thick of the game, trailing 34-30 at the break. However, Rhodes went on a 16-3 run to begin the second half, building a 17-point lead on the home side with 12:11 to go. The Petrels answered back right away, cutting the Rhodes lead down to eight with 8:08 remaining, but Rhodes was quickly able to push that back out to 14 points. The Petrels made one final push at the end, but Rhodes sank free throws down the stretch and held on for the victory.
Rhodes shot 44.6 percent from the field compared to Oglethorpe's 39 percent, which including a 41.2 percent mark from three-point range compared to Oglethorpe's 34.8 percent. The Lynx also forced the Petrels into 18 turnovers and outscored them 30-14 in the paint and 31-15 off the bench, which included a 21-point performance by center Ryan Van Hoeck.
The Petrels were led by junior guard Drew Patrick, who poured in 21 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting. In addition, he made three steals and two blocks. Sophomore guard Romello Bates continued to lead the team in assists, passing out four of them in the game, while sophomore guard Connor Smith tied Patrick for the team lead with seven rebounds.
The first half was a back-and-forth defensive affair, but it was one that was largely controlled by the visitors. Oglethorpe led once early, 5-4, for what turned out be their only lead of the game, but Rhodes took the lead right back. They led by as many as six points in the first half and took a 34-30 lead into the halftime break. Patrick scored 11 of his 21 points in the first on 3-of-5 shooting and recorded both of his blocks in the opening stanza.
In the second, though, Rhodes took complete control of the game out of the break, going on the 16-3 run over the period's opening eight minutes, taking a 50-33 lead. Going back to a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half, the Lynx run totaled 18-3 in all. The 17-point lead was their largest of the game. The Petrels immediately countered with a 13-4 run over a two-and-a-half-minute period, cutting the Rhodes lead down to just eight points, 54-46, with 8:08 remaining. The Petrels were right back in the game, but Rhodes immediately answered with back-to-back three-point baskets, pushing the lead right back out to 14 with 6:42 left. The two teams traded baskets for the next several minutes and things looked bleak for the Petrels, down 62-48 with 3:09 remaining. They made one final run, though, going on a 10-0 spurt to pull to within four points with 44 seconds left. However, they were unable to get any closer, as the Lynx made their free throws down the stretch.
"Tonight was a tough one," said Oglethorpe Head Coach Philip Ponder. "We weren't very sharp at either end of the court. Having not played in three weeks probably hurt us a little, as we didn't really turn it on until late. I was proud of the way we battled back, but we just dug ourselves too big of a hole. We just have to come back with focus on Sunday and start a new winning streak."
The loss snaps the Petrels old winning streak of four games and drops them to 10-3 on the season, 1-1 in SAA play. They'll complete the weekend homestand when they welcome Hendrix to Dorough Field House at 3 p.m. Sunday. After that, the Petrels will embark on a five-game road trip over the next three weekends.