The Oglethorpe men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak Sunday afternoon in Conway, Ark., as they delivered a solid all-around performance in a 78-66 road win over the Hendrix Warriors. The victory improves the team to 16-7 overall, 7-5 in SAA play.
The Petrels fell behind Hendrix in the early-going, trailing by as many as six points. However, the Stormy Petrels quickly answered back, outscoring the Warriors 20-10 over the remainder of the half to take a 15-point lead into the locker room at halftime. They then pushed their lead out even further in the second half, leading by as many as 21 points, 64-43, with 8:45 left in the game. They cruised to a 12-point victory from there.
The Petrels played very well defensively in this game, holding Hendrix to just 38.6 percent shooting from the floor and 31.8 percent shooting from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Petrels shot 46.9 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from long range on the afternoon, making 11 three-pointers. They outrebounded the Warriors, 40-34, and outscored them 28-4 on the fast break.
The Petrels were led in points, rebounds and steals on the day by junior guard Drew Patrick. He collected 21 points on 8-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the three-point line. He also recorded eight rebounds and three steals to go with three assists, as well. Sophomore guard Connor Smith had an outstanding game, as well, pouring in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting overall and 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point line. Freshman forward Chase Wardlaw also had a solid game with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a pair of assists.
Hendrix began the game on an 8-2 run over the first five minutes, but the Petrels were able to quickly answer that. They embarked on a huge 28-4 run that lasted the majority of the first half, building to a 32-14 lead with 3:43 left. Hendrix ended the half on a 6-2 mini-run to cut the Oglethorpe edge to 14 points at halftime.
The Warriors began the second half on a 17-8 run, extending their run to 23-10 bridging over the halftime break and cutting the Oglethorpe lead to just five points, 42-37, with 15:24 left. It was as close as they would get. The Petrels all but put the game away with an 18-3 run over the next 5:20 to take a commanding 60-40 lead. They would build their lead to as many as 21 points with 8:45 left. A 9-2 run brought the Warriors back to within 14 points with just under five minutes remaining, but the Petrels pushed it back out to 20 with 3:25 left, putting the game away for good.
"We took another positive step towards getting our defense back to where it was in the first half of the season today," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "We were much more controlled on offense, as well. It's good to get back on the winning track. We are looking forward to playing at home next weekend, and to continue getting better heading into the SAA Tournament in two weeks."
With the win, the Petrels maintain a fourth-place tie in the league with Birmingham-Southern, but now sit just a game back of second-place Sewanee, who they'll play next weekend in Dorough Field House. That game will get started at 6 p.m. on Friday, and will serve as both Senior Night and as the Petrels' annual Tie-Dye Night. The team will honor seniors Alex Davis, Jordan Kinney and Sean Overstreet on the night. With the win today, that group becomes the winningest group of Oglethorpe men's basketball seniors since the class of 1995.