The Oglethorpe men's basketball team opened both their season and Dorough Field House's new "blacktop" Pinholster Court with a blazing 123-99 victory over Toccoa Falls Saturday night. They used a 65-point first half to set the tone, running out to a 19-point halftime lead and holding the visiting Eagles at bay in the second half to cruise to victory.
A raucous crowd was on hand for a "blackout" to open the new "blacktop" floor. It made for an excellent atmosphere and the two teams did not disappoint with a high-octane performance. The 222 combined points fell just two short of matching the record for most combined points scored in a game involving the Stormy Petrels (224 vs. Georgia College on Nov. 19, 1979) . It represented the most points Oglethorpe has scored in a game since scoring 126 against Park on Jan. 7, 1994.
The Petrels got double-digit points from four players en route to the win. Junior guard Connor Smith led the team with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. He also grabbed eight rebounds, tying for the team lead in that category, too. Sophomore forward Will Perry, making his return to the lineup after missing the final three months of last season with an injury, led the squad with five assists while also grabbing eight boards. He chipped in 18 points and made a pair of steals, as well. Freshman center Stefan Britvar had an outstanding debut for the Petrels, scoring 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and blocking a game-high five shots. Sophomore guard Chris Lawrence added 17 points, four assists and two steals.
The Petrels shot 50 percent from the field, making 46 field goals and attempting 93. They held Toccoa Falls to 42 percent shooting in the process. Oglethorpe outrebounded the Eagles 59-47, including 28-24 on the offensive glass. They recorded 10 blocks to the Eagles' none and committed just 13 turnovers to their opponents' 16. The Petrels also outscored the Eagles 37-18 on the fast break and 60-32 off the bench.
The game proved to be a track meet for the duration, with both teams running the ball up and down the floor and pressing the other when they got the opportunity. After a 5-0 Oglethorpe lead to start it, Toccoa Falls ran off eight straight points to take an 8-5 lead with 17:49 left in the opening half. The two teams traded baskets for a while, but the Petrels slowly started to push out to a lead with a 15-7 stretch. They followed that up with a 14-3 spurt to take a 48-31 lead with 4:35 left in the half, and then went on a 9-2 run late in the half to build a 20-point lead at one point and take a 65-46 lead into the locker room.
The second half proved to be a more even affair, but both teams continued to run the ball up and down the floor. The Eagles managed to get the margin down to 14 points a couple of times, including once a minute-and-a-half into the second period. The Petrels pushed the lead back out to 20 points in relatively short order, though, moving out to a 78-58 advantage with 15:18 remaining. Toccoa Falls used a 10-4 stretch to pull back to within 14 points, 84-70, with 11:50 remaining, but that was as close as they would get. The Petrels immediately went on a 19-7 run to push the advantage out to 103-77, passing the 100-point mark with 8:18 remaining in the game. Oglethorpe attained their largest lead of the game, a 28-point margin, with 1:27 to go. From there, they cruised to the 24-point win.
"It was good to get a win to start the season," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "We had a lot of different guys step up and make contributions. I was really pleased with how we executed the game plan against their press. They were forcing over 30 turnovers a game coming in and we only had 13 tonight. They had been pressing the entire game in their previous four, but we executed so well in the first half that it forced them out of their primary press. I thought we had good balance to our scoring and our veteran wings played really well. We still have plenty to work on, but it was a really good start."
The Petrels will look to continue the excellent start when they enter the regional portion of their non-conference schedule on Wednesday, taking on Piedmont at 7 p.m. from Dorough Field House. After that, they'll host Covenant next weekend before heading up to Maryville, Tennessee, to take on LaGrange and Maryville over Thanksgiving weekend.