The Oglethorpe men's basketball team used a late free throw from sophomore forward Chase Wardlaw with six seconds to go to defeat the Westminster (Missouri) Blue Jays 50-49 Tuesday night in Louisville, Kentucky. The neutral-site result extended the Stormy Petrels' winning streak to three games and improved them to 4-6 on the season.
The Blue Jays came back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to tie the Petrels with 22 seconds remaining, but Wardlaw got fouled driving to the basket on the other end and made 1 of 2 from the line to give the Petrels the lead back. With just six seconds remaining, Westminster drove the length of the floor and got a good look on a mid-range jumper for the win, but the ball clanged harmlessly off the back rim, securing victory for the Petrels.
Sophomore forward Will Perry recorded his third consecutive double-double and his fourth of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds on the night. He sank five of the 10 shots he took from the field. Sophomore guard Chris Lawrence continued his excellent play of late, as well, leading all scorers with 17 points while while sinking 5 of 10 from the field, 3 of 8 from the 3-point line, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe. Wardlaw again provided a spark off the bench, netting 11 points on 4 of 6 from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds and recorded two steals.
The Petrels led the entire game until the final 30 seconds, building a 12-point lead as their high-water mark with 13:09 to go. Oglethorpe led 37-25 after a Lawrence 3-pointer at that point. Westminster slowly began to work their way back into the game, however. They embarked on a 14-4 run over 3:32 to push the Oglethorpe lead down to just two points, 41-39, with 6:27 remaining. The Petrels ran off four straight points after that, though, pushing their advantage back up to 45-39 with 4:39 left. The two teams traded baskets for a couple minutes after that and the Petrels led 49-43 with 2:08 remaining. The Blue Jays then went on a 6-0 run over the next 1:40, culminating in the basket that tied the game with 22 seconds remaining.
Oglethorpe led 27-22 at halftime, but began the second half with back-to-back baskets which pushed their lead out to nine points, 31-22, with 17:33 remaining. Westminster cut that down to a 6-point bulge with 14:35 remaining, but consecutive Lawrence 3-pointers over a minute apart doubled the Petrel lead to 12 points.
The Petrels began the game on a 16-5 run and led by that score line with 13:23 left in the opening period. The Blue Jays answered with five consecutive points over the next 3:20 to cut the Petrel lead down to six, but Oglethorpe quickly pushed the advantage back up to 10 points, 20-10, with 8:27 left in the first half. Westminster sliced that deficit as low as four points with 3:19 left in the half, but the Petrels outscored the Blue Jays 5-4 over the remainder of the period and extended their run to 9-4 when they scored the first two baskets after the break.
The Petrels held Westminster to just 29 percent shooting from the floor for the game. Four of the five Blue Jay starters failed to score a point in the contest, but they did get 36 points off the bench to Oglethorpe's 13. The Petrels shot 37 percent for the game and 26 percent from beyond the arc. Westminster sank just 3-of-23 three-point attempts. The Petrels shot 63 percent from the free throw line to Westminster's 44 percent. The Petrels turned the ball over 22 times, however, compared with just eight for Westminster, keeping the Blue Jays in the game.
"This wasn't the prettiest of games," said Head Coach Philip Ponder, "but I was proud of the way we gutted out a victory in the end. We did play very good half-court defense in this game, and that's been something that we've been improving greatly from the start of the season. I learned a long time ago that there's no such thing as a bad win, so we are happy to get the W and are looking forward to taking the court again tomorrow."
The Petrels will take on Spalding on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. from Louisville. The Golden Eagles hosted Tuesday's neutral-site contest between the Petrels and Blue Jays, as well. After the game on Wednesday, the Petrels will again hit the road after New Year's Day. They'll travel to Montgomery, Alabama, to take on Huntingdon Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern time before returning home the following weekend to delve into the bulk of Southern Athletic Association play.